Make You Mine
by sweet blossom89
Summary: Sometimes you don't pick love, love picks you. Noze New Chapter finally up!
1. Right?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's declassified. **

**Here's my attempt at a chapter story in this category. It's an idea that's been on my head for a while now, and I just had to write it down. I don't plan on making it so long, but I don't know yet. I hope you guys like it. By the way, I'm assuming that Gordy now works in the high school and that their town is on the coast, since it doesn't mention anything on the show.**

**Oh, and please review! My stories generally get hundreds of hits, but not as much reviews, and to tell you the truth, I really appreciate your comments. So I wouldn't mind getting reviews. :)**

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_All of you have heard the same story over and over again. Or at least I know I have. Girl meets boy, boy meets girl, and they become best friends. Over a period a time, they become so close that they can practically read each other's minds. While they argue that they are only friends, everybody else seems to believe that they are something more. And this is where the story becomes interesting—to those who believe in these type of things, at least. There are three established roads it can take:_

_(A). One of them falls in love with the other, but is too afraid to admit their feelings and express them. Him/Her does not want to risk their precious friendship, and so lives in fear—and thus, unrequited love—for the rest of their life._

_(B) One of them falls in love with the other, who doesn't return the feelings because to him/her they're only friends, and it would be weird to date each other. It is awkward for a while, but finally, everything becomes normal between them again. No romantic happy ending here, but at least they're still friends._

_Or, (C), which is the most common one among the current fairy tales. Both of them fall in love with each other, and after finally admitting their feelings under some kind of special circumstance, end up together, holding hands watching the sun set. And they live happily ever after. The perfect fairytale all girls dream of._

_It doesn't matter which of the three endings you choose, it's an overused cliché. Ever present in the chick flicks and romantic comedies, in every book, in every TV show, the best friends end up together, or at least there's an attempt to. There's no way of getting out of it. Everybody suddenly wants to fall in love with their best friend. Why are they so obsessed with it? _

_I wish I knew._

_I always promised myself I would never, _ever_, in one million years, let that happen to me and my best friends. I wouldn't fall for my best male friend, neither of them. I wouldn't be forced to endure the agony that all of the female characters in these so-called fairytales have to endure. I wouldn't have to live in fear or negation. And I wouldn't have to risk our life-long friendship. Of course, I wanted to find the man of my dreams, but I had always imagined it differently. And it certainly didn't involve falling for a cliché. _

_Unfortunately for me, fate had to get in the way of my plans. _

_Which goes to prove how stupid I was for believing I could stop this. _

Groan._ This _couldn't_ be happening to me. _

_Just when I thought I was over it, when I thought that there was nobody for me, here I am back to the place where it all started. _

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**Seventeen year-old Jennifer Mosley** walked through the nearly empty halls of Michael S. Dukakis High, looking for her new locker. As usual, she had gotten up early so that she could get to school on time, and was glad that she had accomplished it. Even if she had had to drag her best friend and neighbor, Ned Bigby, out of bed so that they could walk to school together, as they had since they were younger. It wasn't an easy task, mind you. Ned was the heaviest sleeper she knew, but she couldn't just go to school the first day of senior year without him. It would have just been too weird, especially after what had happened lately. She had finally got him to get up by threatening to cut off his hair if he didn't. His blue eyes had bolted open immediately as he heard her, and he had rushed to get ready, while Moze waited downstairs with his mother—which by the way, was like her own.

As soon as they had gotten to school, Ned had disappeared in search for Gordy, leaving Moze to look for their new lockers—which were situated next to each other—all alone. But she didn't mind. She had a lot of things to think about. Namely, about Seth, her ex-boyfriend, who she had found out recently had been cheating on her all summer.

She sighed, letting her mind go blank for awhile. Like Ned had told her a few days ago, if she overanalyzed the situation, she would end up driving herself crazy and figuring out that there was nothing she could do about it. So she took his advice and relaxed, if only for awhile. After all she wasn't exactly known for tranquil manner.

"_Besides,"_ Ned had told her then, _"If he cheated on you, then he doesn't deserve you."_

If she could only believe that. Moze still remembered his words clearly, how Seth had told her that he loved her, and how they would be together forever. And after two years of dating, it wasn't so difficult to believe. As she found their lockers, Moze laughed out loud as she remembered how she had had to practically tie Ned up to a chair to stop him from beating up Seth when he had learnt what he had done that to her. He was so cute sometimes.

"_Wait, did I just think that?"_ she asked herself confused.

"Moze!" someone behind her called, interrupting her troubling thoughts. She turned around to face a smiling Lisa Zemo.

"You can't imagine how much I've missed you," she said as the slightly smaller dark-haired girl hugged her.

Over the years, Lisa had become her best female friend after Suzie had moved away in the eighth grade, and their trio had evolved into a foursome. Their bond, however, or the one that she had with Cookie didn't compare to the one she still shared with Ned. But she was definitely glad she finally had someone she could girl talk with. Lisa had been traveling all summer, leaving her to "suffer," as she herself had said, with Cookie and Ned. When the summer had started, Moze thought she would have a great time with both of them, even though she missed Lisa dearly. And she thought that she would finally be getting to spend some quality time with Seth without being interrupted, because the basketball season was finally over. But she had been wrong.

"So how was your summer?" Lisa asked cheerfully as Moze turned to try the combination on her locker.

"Pretty much the same, you know, I got to spend a lot of time with Cookie and Ned," she said a frown forming on her face. "Well except-"

"Simon told me what happened," Lisa interrupted, saving her from a very difficult explanation. One Moze definitely didn't fancy giving. At least until she felt better. "But remember, don't you let that get your spirits down,"

Moze faked a smile at her, nodding. "It's in the past." As much as she cared for Lisa, nobody but Ned really knew what she felt. And she wanted to keep it that way, because he was the only one that really understood her. She didn't want others to think she was making a huge drama over it. And besides, she would eventually end up telling Lisa everything anyways.

Lisa smiled back. "And remember that you always have us to cheer you up…even if it is with one of Ned's and Cookie's crazy ideas."

Moze laughed genuinely this time, as she watched Cookie come up to Lisa and place an arm around her waist, kissing her cheek softly.

"So, I guess I'm not the only third wheel now," Ned said cheerfully, towering over her to reach his locker as he arrived with Cookie. He swept his brown hair out of his eyes as he observed Moze curiously. "Someone's pretty quiet today," he said softly.

She laughed. "I just have a lot on my mind," she repeated.

"Pray tell, Moze, when _don't _you have something on your mind? You could try being normal for _once_ and think about nothing like me and Cookie do often," he joked.

"Hey!" she said reaching up to smack him softly on the head. Moze sometimes forgot how much Ned had grown since middle school. "I don't want to be a goofball, unlike you guys,"

"Ow," he complained, pretending it had actually hurt. "Why are you so mean? Here I am trying to make you feel better and you smack me!" he wailed amused, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"Oh, did I hurt poor little Ned?" she teased in a baby voice, as he chuckled. Laughing at his antics, she closed her locker and turned to face him, just as the last person she wanted to see now passed next to them. She stopped at mid-laugh and Ned wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders, glaring at the blond boy, who ignored him.

Seth Powers raised his eyes and his gaze connected with Moze's, who immediately avoided it by burying her face into Ned's chest, as Seth watched them confused. After a few moments when she was sure Seth was gone, she surfaced, breaking free of Ned's embrace.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, as Cookie and Lisa watched the exchange with interest.

"I am now," Moze responded smiling slightly at his caring voice as the first bell announcing homeroom rang.

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Ned and Moze walked home together from the bus stop as usual. It had been interesting day to say at the least. They had been able to catch up with their classmates again, and they had had fun listening about everybody's summer vacations. Although they wouldn't admit it, all of them had certainly missed school.

"So are you signing up for soccer again?" Moze asked him trying to make small talk.

"Of course I am!" Ned responded enthusiastically as they rounded the corner of their street. "I'm actually going to be captain this year."

"Congratulations," she said happy that he had finally found a sport he could play. Even though Ned had actually grown to be six feet tall, he had long ago since given up on basketball, but he decided to try out for soccer. Luckily for Ned, he discovered he was actually pretty good at it, and had been on the team since ninth grade.

"And you're still the volleyball team captain, right?"

"'Course I am," she responded cheekily, repeating the words he had said earlier.

They reached their houses and Ned waved his goodbye as he headed towards his own porch, promising to call her later that night. Moze sighed tiredly and opened the door to her empty house, where there was only silence to welcome her.

She went upstairs and worked on the homework their teachers had assigned for the first day. As the sun began to set later, she sighed longingly at the sight outside of her window. Moze stood up, stretching, deciding to go for a walk. Maybe this would help her clear her mind.

As she reached the shore, she took off her sandals and walked slowly towards their beach, where she knew she would have the relaxing sound of the waves to calm her.

That special stretch of beach, or _their_ beach, as Ned and Moze liked to call it, was their secret place. They had found this secluded bit of paradise about ten years ago, when Ned and Moze had been running around just having fun. They were entranced by it the moment they had set their eyes on it and since then had pinky-promised that this would be their own special place, and that they wouldn't tell anyone about. Eventually, Cookie and Lisa had found out about it, but they didn't mind sharing it with them.

As she reached the water's edge, Moze let some waves lap gently at her feet, and sat down quietly, trying to sort out her thoughts.

"You should have told me you were coming here," a male voice said behind her a few minutes later, and Moze recognized Ned's voice immediately.

She smiled. "I didn't want to bother you, I think I've done that enough lately." she justified.

He sighed, sitting down on the sand next to her, looking out to the setting sun. "Moze, I'm always here to listen to you."

She smiled sadly. "I know, It's just that-" She shut her mouth and thought about what she was going to say next. "Do you think everything will change now? Once we end our senior year and start a new chapter of our lives?"

"Nothing is permanent, Moze." Ned let the sand slip through his fingers. "There's nothing we can do about it."

She finally broke down. "I don't want things to change anymore!" she exclaimed vehemently.

"It's part of life," He said, looking comfortingly at her.

"I know, but look at me!" Her eyes were tearing up but she didn't care. "I thought I had the perfect life. I thought I had found the love of my life, the perfect boyfriend. I thought I was happy, and then, _bam!_ Everything changes in a minute. And it turns out I was wrong. Seth wasn't who I thought he was, and I'm left here alone. I really thought I loved him…" she ended, her voice turning into a whisper, barely audible above the waves' crashes. "What if everything else falls apart this way too?"

"Do you remember when we were eight, and you told me how you wanted to find your prince charming?" Ned asked her a while later, reminiscing.

A stray tear worked its way down her face, as she smiled sadly in response. She had been so naïve then. Ned was the only one that knew about this. Opposite to many people's beliefs, she was actually a hopeless romantic.

Ned raised a hand to her face, trapping the tear under his thumb softly, wiping it way. "I know that right now you feel hopeless, and you think its over. But I _know_," he stated confidently, "that there _is_ someone out there for you, and when the right time comes, you'll know who he is. Before you know it, your knight in shinning armor will come along and sweep you out of your feet. And this time, I will make sure he that he won't break your heart. And you have nothing to worry about. You are not alone in this, and I will be by your side supporting you as long as you need me. And I know our friends feel the same. You're not alone in this Moze."

Moze smiled shyly at him, as he lowered his hand from her face. "Thanks," she said hoarsely, as she let her fingers play with the sand.

He laughed. "I'm just stating the obvious," he responded. "Seth doesn't know what he's missing," he continued gazing at her warmly.

"No, I mean, thanks for being my best friend and always being there for me." She turned to him. "I love you," she said the last part without thinking, blushing suddenly. "I mean as a-a friend," she corrected rapidly.

"Awww…" he said jokingly, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "You know I love you too," he said ruffling her hair. "You're the best friend I ever had, and I really hope it stays like that."

Moze felt his familiar sandalwood smell envelop her and she closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and melting into his embrace. Butterflies burst alive in her stomach, as she pulled away suddenly, feeling awkward.

Ned raised his eyebrows at her questioning her actions.

"I don't want to get your sweat on me!" she joked, splashing him and running away before he could catch her.

"You're going to pay for that!" Moze heard Ned holler jokingly at her as he stood up and started to pursue her.

She ran for her life, laughing happily, Seth forgotten for a while, as a certain blue-eyed boy entered her thoughts.

"_What is happening to me_?" she asked herself as she let Ned tackle her to the ground tickling her. Goosebumps traveled up her arms. _"Why am I feeling different towards Ned?"_

Sure, she'd had had a crush on him when they had both been fourteen. But she had gotten over it…_right?_

But her thoughts finally lay forgotten as Moze looked into those beautiful blue eyes of his. And the only thing she could really do then was smile.

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To be continued…_

**What do you think? Should I continue this? You tell me. Review! **


	2. Over My Head

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Ned's Declassified. Although I wish I did. **

**Wow, I really wasn't expecting so many reviews. Thank you so much to all of you who did. I really appreciate it. It's your comments that keep me going with this story, and I'm so glad you're enjoying it, because its gun to write it.**

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you guys like it. Oh, and as always, please review:)**

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"_What do you want to do when you grow up?" an eight-year old Ned Bigby asked suddenly, lifting his eyes from the sand castle he was building at his and Moze's secret place. _

_Eight year old Moze raised her hand to her face, thinking seriously about it. Ned rolled his eyes knowing that she would probably think about this the whole day. That is, until her face lit up with a bright smile. _

_Moze remembered the bed-time story her mother had read her the night before. The princess in the book was so beautiful and happy. She wanted to. And she remembered how the princess had become so happy. "I want to find a prince and marry him and be happy," she exclaimed blissfully. _

_Ned looked confusingly at her for a few moments, until he remembered the story his own mom had told him. And then he started wondering something. "Why can't you just marry me?" he asked curiously. _

_Moze laughed slightly. "Ned, you are not a prince. And a princess _must_ marry a prince so that they can live happily ever after," she said sighing dreamily, helping him build the sandcastle._

"_But I have a castle," argued; pointing to the sand castle they were working on. _

"_Well, yeah," she said analyzing the situation. "But you don't have crown, or a horse. And you haven't fought a dragon," she added as an afterthought, trying to remember all the things the prince had had in the story. _

"_But I _would_ fight a dragon for you!" he said bravely_

"_I know", she said smiling. "That's why you're my best friend" _

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**Moze was glad it was finally Friday night.** For the first time in her life, she was pleased that there was no school the next day. She was just so tired.

Well, she wasn't really tired of her classes. They had actually been very interesting, and she was enjoying being on the volleyball team and attending practices again. But she didn't think she could take another day of everybody staring at her like she had grown a second head.

Half of the eyes that stared at her were pitying, like she was slowly dying a painful death. These were the people that actually knew the truth, and that knew that she had had been terribly hurt. O, how Moze wished they could just _stop_ that. This is why she hadn't told anyone but her friends about Seth. She knew this would happen. And she hated it. She hated being so vulnerable.

The other half on the other hand well, let's just say that if looks could kill, Moze would be dead over fifty times already. Half of the school thought she had actually cheated on Seth and broken _his_ heart. _As if_. they stared at her disdainfully, glaring at her every opportunity they got. Not surprisingly, these stares normally came from girls who were desperate to get her hands on him. They could have Seth for all she cared. Well, he ws certainly taking advantage of the situation. So far, he had hung out with all these girls in and out of school.

Normally she wouldn't care about this, but lately, she was just getting tired of the looks following her everywhere she went. She did not want to be known because of her breakup with Seth. Moze didn't want to be pitied. She didn't want to be hated.

"Well, at least, I haven't had to talk to him," Moze thought to herself, trying to sit more comfortably on Ned's couch. And Moze sure hoped it wouldn't be any time soon, because she knew that despite it all, she still wasn't ready, so she had been avoiding him like the plague.

"You know, you should just ignore them. It will eventually blow over." Ned told her sitting down next to her on the couch, as if reading her mind.

"It's easier said than done," she responded.

"Moze, if you show them that you don't actually care, they will stop," Ned advised, placing an arm behind her on the couch's back.

"I hate being so vulnerable sometimes," she said, pouting in a childish way.

Ned laughed out loud at her statement as Moze looked at him strangely. "Moze, One of the nicest things about you is that you are so vulnerable. It just means you're very much alive."

"Who knew you could say something so smart?" she said laughing, considering what he had just said. "Or so sweet?"

Ned blushed slightly, hoping that she couldn't spot it, and avoided her eyes. "Yeah well, you know me, best friend extraordinaire."

She laughed again smacking him softly on the chest. "If only you could be this smart all the time."

"Hey!" he responded pretending to be offended. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"Nothing." Moze fought to keep a straight face. However, the moment their eyes locked they both burst into laughter.

"You are _so_ weird."

"Look who's talking."

Their "argument" was interrupted when the front door opened, as Ned's mother walked in through it. "Oh, hey kids," The blonde woman said walking around the couch. She placed a soft kiss on both her son's and Moze's foreheads. "What crazy thing are you planning for today?" she asked suspiciously, not at all surprised to find them laughing somewhat manically on their living room couch.

Ned and Moze looked into each others eyes again, and as before burst into laughter. Ned's mother just rolled her eyes and headed towards the kitchen, wondering if either of them would figure it out soon.

"So what are we watching tonight?" Moze asked a few minutes later after they had finally stopped laughing. She was still a bit breathless, and it sounded a bit strange when she said it.

"I have no idea," Ned responded. "You choose."

"I chose last time remember?"

"So?"

"Just choose a movie already!" she said rolling her eyes.

Ned grinned triumphantly and picked out a horror movie from the pile that was sitting on the table in front of them. "Just don't complain," he said, showing her his pick.

"Oh come on Ned! You know I really don't like those."

"So?" he repeated jokingly. "You let me choose, remember?"

Moze was seriously regretting her choice now. "What ever happened to best friend extraordinaire?" she asked. Putting on a puppy dog face on, she continued. "Please choose another one…" she pleaded.

"The face isn't going to work this time," Ned said as he popped the disk into the DVD, and turning the lights in the living room off. He did however, extend his right arm towards her as he sat down again. "Here, you can grip it all you want when you're scared. I know you'll do it anyways, so I might as well offer."

She grinned and sat back comfortably in the couch, cuddling slightly next to him, as the movie started.

Half an hour later, Ned's heart was beating rapidly in his chest, and it wasn't the zombies in the movie that were causing it. But how he wished it was. Instead, he knew that it was caused by his best friend. Moze was currently cuddled in his chest, hiding her face from the horrific images on the screen, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Every time a monster appeared on the screen, she would squeeze his waist tightly. And every time she did this, butterflies exploded in his stomach.

But for some reason, he didn't really mind that they were in this position. His arms were wrapped around her waist, his chin on top of her head. He was extremely comfortable, and he didn't want to move. Ned was fighting a loosing battle with his eyelids. He wanted to stay awake, but her warmth and smell were soporific. When the credits started to roll, Moze tried to pull away slightly, but he wrapped his arms more tightly around her.

"Don't move," he told her, yawning. "You are a _very_ good teddy bear." Ned buried his face in her neck—something he usually did when he hugged her—to emphasize his point.

"Mm," she said giggling as his breath tickled her neck. Moze didn't complain much and repositioned herself against his chest again. "Goodnight then," she said softly, closing her eyes.

"Goodnight." Ned responded placing a kiss on the top her head, closing his tired eyes finally.

A few minutes later, when they had fallen asleep, the front door opened again, this time allowing a brown haired woman that strongly resembled Moze inside. She looked around at the dark room as Ned's mother came downstairs. Both of them spotted their offspring asleep on the couch, and shared a secretive smile. Moze's mom reached over and placed a blanket softly over them, as both of them headed towards the kitchen to talk as they did usually, both of them wondering how their son and daughter could be so blind.

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The next morning, Ned woke up to find himself wrapped around something soft, and he was surprised when he remembered that Moze and himself had fallen asleep on the couch last night. But he really didn't care.

And apparently, neither did Moze. She had slept very well, she had told him, "all cuddled up" with him, as she had called it. He had blushed then, and had sat up gently, as not to hurt her, still keeping his arms around her lightly. He wanted to stay that way for longer, but instead he suggested they eat breakfast.

They had spent the whole weekend together, as they always did, hanging out with Lisa and Cookie. It had been pretty much a normal weekend—Moze had even badgered him until he did his homework on Saturday instead of on Sunday night. But there was something Ned couldn't help but noticing.

Moze was changing. Or at least she was in _his_ eyes.

Just days ago she had pronounced herself against change. But Ned knew that she herself was changing. The last few days she seemed so…free. Moze didn't have Seth tied to her side at all times for the first time in years, and this somehow uncovered a side of her that Ned hadn't spotted in a while. She was suddenly laughing again, and she was smiling for no reason. If Ned didn't know better, he would describe her behavior as that of a person who was in love. _"But she couldn't be…right?" _he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted when his blue eyes connected with hers. A shiver went down his spine as he smiled cheerfully at Moze trying to ignore his feelings. _"I can't be thinking this. I have to be going crazy,"_ he told himself.

"What's on your mind, sleepyhead?" she asked as they reached their lockers on Monday morning.

"Nothing," he lied, avoiding her gaze. Ned couldn't tell her. Besides, these feelings were only temporary, caused by them falling asleep on his couch…_right?_

Moze sighed. She knew Ned was lying to her. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

Ned smiled at her. "Sorry Moze. I'll tell you later, though," he said. Ned certainly wished he could tell her someday what he was thinking now, but he knew that it would probably never occur. After all, he wasn't her prince, as she had stated so many years before. But he knew that eventually he would burst and would have to tell her. But he didn't think it was too serious. Ned was probably only imagining things.

The bell for homeroom rang then, saving him from having to lie to Moze again, as they chattered away. They walked together to their classroom, and the topic lay forgotten for a while in Ned's mind.

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Later that day, when the bell for lunch rung Moze bolted out of class, followed closely by Lisa. She hadn't been able to think straight throughout the whole class, because she knew that Seth had had his eyes on her for the whole period. Several times it even looked like he wanted to talk to her. But Moze still didn't want to face him just yet. She didn't have a very good feeling about it.

Talking and laughing, they met up with Cookie and Ned in the hallway leading towards the cafeteria, as Moze fidgeted her backpack around.

"Go sit at the table without me," Moze called to them as she looked through her backpack, noticing she had forgotten one of her binders in her last class. "I'll catch up with you later."

Ned looked at her curiously, and Moze smiled in response, telling him without words that there was nothing to worry about. She turned and headed towards the classroom she had just left. She was so distracted, in fact, that at first she didn't hear her name being called.

And when she did hear it, the only thing she did was increase her pace. Seth Powers was right behind her.

"Moze!" he said, finally catching up with her and grabbing her upper arm. "Why are you avoiding me?" he asked. Moze couldn't believe these were the first words he spoke to her after their breakup.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Moze asked sarcastically, trying to break free. When she finally broke free, she turned her back on him, ignoring him again, and started walking away towards the cafeteria forgetting all about the binder. Moze wished she wouldn't have come back for it in the first place.

"Wait!" Seth exclaimed, grabbing her hand, which she pulled away immediately. "I need to talk to you," he continued, raising his hand towards her face, trying to make Moze look at him.

Moze only sighed and glared at him, as Seth started pacing in front of her.

"Look, I know that what I did was wrong--"

"Took you long enough," she said interrupting him somewhat scornfully.

"Everybody makes mistakes. Granted, mine was very big but-" He shut his mouth, looking nervously into her eyes, as if trying to understand her unreadable expression. "I'm sorry," he said finally, lowering his gaze to the ground.

It wasn't going to get much better than this; and Moze couldn't let herself fall for his charm again. Slowly, she started walking away again, but Seth called out to her again.

"Moze, I love you, I really do. Can't you give me another chance?"

"No," she responded seriously. "I _can_ forgive you when I'm ready to, but I can't give you another chance. I loved you too much and look what happened. And if you had loved me, you wouldn't have cheated on me." Moze told Seth chidingly.

"So why can't you give me another chance then, if you love me? I promise I will never do this again," he told her pleadingly, cornering her against the lockers.

"There is a great difference between _loved, _and _love,_" she responded as his face fell. "I don't want to take any risks. And I don't longer feel anything for you," she stated somewhat relieved to realize this.

"Moze, please, just consider it. We were so good together."

"Do you think I haven't seen you with all those girls hanging from your arm Seth? I know you just want me back because Mr. Popularity figured out that half the school hates him because they found out about the truth."

"That's not true!" he argued, pushing her slightly into the lockers. "I really regret what I did. Please let's just try it again."

"I am dating someone else now, Seth." She lied avoiding his eyes because she knew that Seth would figure out she was being untruthful. Moze was tired of his pleading. She was afraid she would finally break and let him have his chance. And she knew that this would only cause another heartbreak. So she placed herself out of the market, even if it wasn't true. But Seth didn't need to know that.

"Is that so?" he said sardonically, whispering in her ear as he tried to get closer. Seth knew she was lying, and he wasn't about to give up when he knew Moze would eventually cave in. He had to get her back.

"Yes it is." Moze pulled away. She didn't want to be anywhere near him. _Where were Cookie and Ned when she needed them? _

"Then why aren't you looking at me in the face?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't believe me if you don't want to, but its true." she responded, looking bravely into his eyes hoping he wouldn't notice, and that she could convince him to give up.

"Who is it, then?" he said walking closer to her, trying to get her to admit that she was indeed lying. Moze walked backwards and opened her mouth to respond, but her mind went blank.

"_What do I do now?"_ she asked herself.

"I--" her mind reeled to spit out a random name, when she was suddenly interrupted.

"Me," said a confident voice behind her, as a pair of arms wrapped possessively around her small waist from behind. A familiar smell reached her nose.

It was then when she knew she was in over her head.

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To be continued…._


	3. All At Once

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's Declassified.**

**Fifty-seven reviews for two chapters? You guys are amazing! I really wasn't expecting so much feedback. Thank you so, so much for it. This is what keeps me writing, and I'm so glad you're liking the story so much. **

**Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry for the delay, but I've been extremely busy. To make up for it however, this chapter is longer then the previous two (it's over 3,500 words), and something tells me you're going to enjoy it. As always, please remember to review! **

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_Tears rolled down her cheeks, as sobs racked her body. And she did the first thing that came to mind. Moze ran up the stairs, almost tripping, and banged on Ned's front door, not caring how late it was. _

_And he answered to her call immediately. _

_As Ned opened his door to find a clearly upset Moze, he did the best thing he could do then. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, no explanations needed. _

_Moze hugged him close to her, burying her face into his chest, her tears leaving dark spots on his pajamas' shirt. She knew that he would protect her now. And that there was nothing to fear now; he would help her get over this. _

"_What happened?" he asked her softly, once she had calmed down a bit. _

"_Seth," she had responded softly, as more tears slipped down her face. He growled slightly in annoyance, understanding her meaning; as he reached down to wipe her tears. As they slid into a sitting position against the porch railing, he had tried to comfort her. He hugged her closer to his body, trying to keep her warm in the cold night._

"_Shh, everything will be all right," he had whispered into her ear, stroking her hair. _

"_How are you so sure?" she had asked, looking into his blue eyes as if looking for an answer. _

"_Because I will always be here to help you with whatever you need. No matter what I have to do, I'll do anything it takes to keep you safe."_

_If he only knew then the mess it would get him into. _

-

* * *

"**Ned?"** Seth asked confused, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "You have to be kidding me."

"We're not kidding," Ned responded, seeing as Moze had suddenly become speechless.

"Come on. I would have _known_ if there was something between you guys."

"And why's that?" Moze asked, finally being able to speak.

"Because it would have been _obvious_. Come on, you guys have been best friends for a long time. You couldn't have suddenly decided to get together. _And_ if I remember correctly, _you've_ always denied being attracted to each other."

Ned tightened his grip on Moze's waist as she leaned into his chest. "Seth, what actually got us together so fast was the fact that we were best friends and that we knew each other better than ourselves," he lied, thinking quickly.

"It wouldn't be the first time you guys pretend to date," Seth continued, raising his eyebrows. But then he thought of something. "Is that why you guys have been acting weird around each other lately?" he asked, looking at them probingly.

Both Ned and Moze looked confusedly at him. _Since when had they had started acting weirdly around each other? _

"What-what are you talking about, Seth?" Moze piped up finally, stealing a glance at Ned.

Now it was Seth's turn to look confusedly at them "You've been closer than usual, like the other day by your lockers," he said analyzing the situation. "But isn't that normal for couples?" He asked rhetorically. "Aha!" He exclaimed suddenly, making Moze jump closer to Ned, startled. "So this means you guys aren't really dating! If you were, then you wouldn't be surprised about this. "

"_Uh-oh,"_ both thought. But had they really been getting closer?

"Ohhhh," Ned said, "You were talking about us being _closer_. I didn't know you were referring to _that_." He lied, laughing nervously, as Moze nodded enthusiastically.

He still looked at them strangely. Could they be fooling him? Meanwhile, Ned unwrapped his arms from around Moze, instead reaching for her hand, and started pulling her away towards the cafeteria once more.

"Wait," said Seth reaching for Moze's other hand. "Can you guys just stop pretending? I know that-"

"Ned! What is taking you guys so long?" Cookie interrupted joining them. He looked at them interested. Both Ned and Seth seemed to be pulling Moze in opposite directions, and both were glaring at each other. Moze on the other hand, looked rather scared like she wanted to hide away from everything.

"Seth, will you let go of my _girlfriend_?" Ned said, looking pointedly at Cookie. Realization dawned on his face.

"Can't believe someone was faster than you, can't you Seth?" Cookie added.

He only sighed defeated and finally let go of Moze's hand. He looked at them unbelievingly again and led his way back towards the cafeteria. When he turned the corner towards it, Cookie spoke up.

"Anyone care to explain to me what's going on here?" he said, looking at their still entwined hands.

Ned opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, Moze had broken free of his grasp and ran as fast as she could down the hall.

* * *

_God, what was she going to do now? _

Ned had just pretended to be her boyfriend, and she didn't quite know how to react to that. Part of her was dancing internally—and she didn't know why. Part of her was happy, and giddy. It had felt so good to have his arms around her.

But the other part of her on the other hand, was just plain worried and confused. _"What is happening to me?"_ Her heart beat faster at the only thought of them having to lie to Seth that way.

She knew that this had just complicated their relationship on a whole new level, and she couldn't help but think this would just make her go over the edge. But it only was for a while right? Only so that she could fool Seth and keep him away. It wasn't like they would have to get together or anything….

True, Moze had convinced herself that she didn't like Ned that way. In her opinion, she didn't even have a crush on him. Moze had gotten over it a long time ago. But this had been definitely...awkward, or so she guessed. She really couldn't imagine Ned being the 'perfect' guy that all girls dreamt of. Mind you, she knew him better than anyone else, and she knew that Ned was a great 'catch', but she simply couldn't imagine going out with him. _But would it really be so bad? Would Ned even want to pretend to date her?_

The gym door opened suddenly, revealing a worried Ned. He looked all around the building, until he spotted Moze sitting on the bleachers looking lost. Had he really done something so stupid?

"Ned Bigby!" were the first words that came out of her mouth towards him as he neared her. "What on _earth_ made you do that?" she asked, slightly annoyed with herself for letting her mind wander.

"_Uh oh,"_ he thought, sitting next to her on the bench. So maybe he had gone a bit overboard…. Moze put her face in her hands, frustrated. "I was only trying to help, Moze. You didn't look very comfortable in that position. "

"I know but-"

"I thought this plan was better than going up and punching him, which was my original plan. Knowing you, you wouldn't have been too happy about it, even after Seth did to you. You've probably punched me back, although not as hard," he smirked.

She laughed slightly, closing her eyes, relaxing for a while. "You know I don't like you going around hitting anybody, especially not on my account. It makes you look like a caveman…although sometimes I wonder if you're really not one."

"Yeah right," was his only response as he reached over to tickle her slightly in revenge.

She laughed and pulled away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be angry at you. After all you were only helping me."

"Come on Moze, It isn't that bad," Ned told her, squeezing her shoulder. "And I don't want you to get hurt again," he added softly. "You do remember what I told you, right?"

She nodded slightly, smiling at the memory. "What am I going to do now?" she voiced the question she had asked herself earlier. "I mean, if told Seth that we broke up suddenly, he would try his luck again. And I don't want him close."

There was _one_ thing they could do, but Ned wasn't so sure Moze would agree to it. Heck, he wasn't even sure it would work, and it might strain their relationship. On second thought, however, the idea didn't sound so bad. "Well," Ned said slowly, measuring his words. "We can always pretend to be dating until Seth decides to give up, which could be tomorrow…or in a month."

She sat up quickly, her eyes opening suddenly.

Ned blushed, thinking he shouldn't have said anything in the first place. "_Great, now Moze will think I'm crazy,"_ he thought.

But he was wrong.

"You think that could actually work?"

He thought about it a few moments, surprised that she was actually considering it, and he responded with a nod. "Seth won't try anything with you if he knows, or _thinks _in this case, you're dating someone else. Not even he is so stupid to do something like that. Besides, it's not like we haven't done this before. We're pros at this," he continued joking.

Moze blushed and laughed in response. She remembered all the times they had been forced to pretend to date in Middle school. For some reason, she remembered these times dearly, and although she wouldn't admit it, she had had the time of her life. And it had been difficult to 'break up.' Then she thought about something. "But Ned, we haven't pretended seriously, not really, and not for so long."

He furrowed his brow. "But it can't be that difficult, right?"

She thought about it for awhile, considering the position they were in. She felt trapped. There wasn't much they could do, and she would rather fake-go-out with Ned than having Seth all over her again trying to win her back. "Yeah, I think so," she said finally, acknowledging that this was the best she could do.

"We just have to hold hands and act lovey-dovey like Lisa and Cookie do all the time. It annoyed me before, and they did it on purpose…but now we can have our revenge." Ned rubbed his hands together as Moze rolled her eyes and wondered why boys were so competitive.

She laughed again, glad that he was able to make her laugh, even in this awkward situation. "So….how did we get together?" she asked suddenly, looking seriously at Ned.

His mind went blank, and he laughed. He never thought he would hear that particular phrase, especially coming from Moze. "I don't know?" he stated jokingly. "But we do have to make something up if we want this to work, because it will surely be one of the questions that we will get."

She tried to think of something, but really, she couldn't come up with something.

"What if we tell them you were kidnapped and that I went to save you and you fell in love with your knight in shinning armor?"

"Ned!" she exclaimed chidingly, laughing somewhat at his idea. "It has to be believable."

"Oh, come on Moze, it's believable. _Remember? _Princesses are always getting kidnapped and sealed away at a tower guarded by a dragon where their…" He shut his mouth at her look. "Okaaay….so what if we just told them that after you broke up with Seth I was there to comfort you, and since that night we have seen each other in a different light and decided to go out?"

She considered it. "Well, it's believable…and partially true." She blushed and avoided his eyes. "I mean, the whole part of you comforting me…not about seeing each other differently…"

"Sooo…are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her softly, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

Moze looked into Ned's blue eyes again. She knew she could trust him, and it was worth a try. She wasn't really risking anything. And with that, she stood up, pulling at his hand in the process, and responded with a confident yes.

* * *

The rumor that they were going out spread amazingly quick around their school, so fast in fact, that at the beginning Ned and Moze couldn't believe it. But after all, it went perfectly with their plan. If they could convince so many of their peers, they could certainly fool Seth, at least until they 'broke up'.

Moze discovered something. It was a pleasant surprise indeed. Ned played the part of her boyfriend perfectly. Better even, if it was possible.

She had been surprised on Tuesday morning when she had found him waiting for her in her living room. Normally, she would have had to go over at his house to find him dozing at the table, after eating breakfast. But instead, he was waiting for _her. _He had only smiled at her then, and asked her a simple question, extending his hand towards her.

"Ready?"

"As I will ever be." She had answered, extending her own hand and letting her fingers entwine with his. Both of them had jumped in shock.

Moze and Ned had both felt as if sparks had traveled from their connected hands through their whole bodies. Blushing, they had looked confusingly at each other, as new thoughts started running through their minds.

_It couldn't be…or could it? _

Without letting go of Ned's hand. Moze had suggested that they should leave towards the bus stop, or they would lose the bus, making them late to school. Ned had only nodded, not really listening, and opened her front door, squeezing her hand reassuringly. And so they had set off towards school.

Meanwhile, Moze's mom had watched interestingly from the kitchen.

As soon as they had reached school and separated for their first class, Seth had almost jumped on her, trying to get her to confess that what she really wanted as to get back to him. But Moze had quickly escaped his ramblings, knowing that Ned and she would have to kick up their pretending up a notch. She just hoped the situation wouldn't turn into something they couldn't handle.

And that brought them to now.

They were currently sitting in Study Hall, next to each other. Ned had his left arm around the back of Moze's chair, as he worked busily in his homework, or at least pretended to for Moze's benefit.

Moze was also working. She had a book on Abraham Lincoln in front of her, and was trying to read it so she could start on her project. Key word: _trying._

Seth was sitting on the other side of the room, sitting in a table of girls who were barely keeping themselves from drooling. He was working, but every once in a while, he kept lifting his eyes to watch the pair who was sitting on a few tables away. And his eyes widened every time he did.

Over at the other table, Ned kept leaning over, whispering stuff into Moze's ear and making her laugh. And she was nervous. Moze couldn't quite explain how good it felt to have Ned's breath tickling her cheeks, or having his lips so close to her that surely, if she turned her face towards him, she could connect her own lips to his.

"_Stop,"_ she told herself, as her eyes wandered the boy sitting next to her. _"You shouldn't be thinking this…"_ she continued chidingly, as she pulled her eyes to her book, trying to concentrate.

Ned looked strangely at her. He knew that she wasn't really listening to him, and it worried him to know that she was so distracted. In fact, he was quite surprised to see that she wasn't actually paying attention to the assignment in front of her either. Normally, Moze would have been working away, because Ned knew she hated procrastinating. Leaning over to read over her shoulder, he noticed that she seemed to be reading the same page over and over again.

"Moze?" he asked softly into her ear.

Without really thinking, Moze turned to face him, and their noses bumped each other's, making both of them blush. Moze smiled, for the first time noticing Ned's blush. "What, are you afraid of me?" she asked him jokingly, still so close to Ned that she could feel his breath on her face.

"_If you only knew…" _he thought.

"Wouldn't want to catch girl cooties, would I?" he responded smirking vaguely.

She smacked him slightly, pulling away.

"You know Seth has been watching us since the beginning of the period, right?"

"Yeah," she responded, turning her attention back to Ned. "Maybe this way he'll finally leave me alone. "

As Seth placed his gaze on them again, Ned did something impulsive. He leaned down and placed a soft peck on her cheek as she went back to her book once more. Moze froze. _"Had he really done that?"_ She asked herself, still feeling surprised. She stole a gaze at Ned, but he seemed to be immersed in his text. Obviously, he hadn't felt anything.

How wrong she was.

Ned's hands trembled as he turned the pages of his book. He couldn't believe he had actually done that. Surely, Moze didn't think it was necessary, but as he looked at her, she seemed not to have noticed anything. She hadn't even pulled away from the soft embrace he was holding her into, with his arm around the back of her chair. _Had it bothered her? _

This was really awkward, he realized.

The bell rung then signaling the start of lunch and saving him from more troubling thoughts. Interested, he watched as Seth slowly picked up his things and walked towards them. But the only thing Seth told them as he passed their table was "I still don't believe you." Their faces dropped. _Come on, what did it take to convince him? _

They let their minds wander as they picked up their books and headed towards their lockers on the first floor, just walking normally and talking about whatever came to mind. The flirting for some, or just a normal conversation between two friends for others, followed as they went down the stairs and into the familiar halls. They were slightly pushing each other, going into another of their playful banters, occasionally wrapping a light arm around each other. As their classmates watched they smiled slightly, wondering what had taken them so long. The always observant Cookie was watching them carefully from the other side of the hall, taking notes mentally, while Lisa spoke to him.

"What?" both asked simultaneously as Cookie continued to eye them curiously, as they reached their lockers.

"Are you guys sure you're only pretending?"

The only response he got was two blushes.

* * *

Moze and Ned sat later that day at their beach, just enjoying each others' company as they usually did. But this time it was different. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Both of them were unusually quiet. It was as if suddenly they had run out of things to say. And this never seemed to be a problem between them. But the events of the day had struck them silent. Neither of them expected it to be so complicated, or so awkward for that matter.

But it was, for some unknown reason for both Ned and Moze.

"He wasn't really convinced," said Ned, finally speaking up. He had tried to sit as far away from Moze as he could. They were alone now, and they could go back to acting normal again. But it didn't feel the same way as it had before.

"Yeah, I know. I don't know why he won't believe us. Everybody at school believed us easily." She stood up and took her shoes off, walking closer to the edge of the water and letting the small wavelets lap gently at her feet.

Ned observed her from his sitting position against the sun. Why did she suddenly seem so different? This wasn't certainly that Moze he had thought he'd known all his life. Something stood out from her, but Ned couldn't put his finger on it.

"But do you know what else was weird?"

"What?" she asked softly, playing with the sand with her toes, her hands locked behind her back.

Ned stood up to join her near the water, still keeping his eyes on her. "Everyone else at our school wasn't surprised to learn that we were 'together.' In fact, most of them were like, kind of expecting it."

Moze hadn't really thought about it, but as she reflected upon it, she discovered that Ned was right. But she wasn't surprised at all. For years she had been asked if she and Ned had felt anything special towards each other. Everybody seemed to think that they were meant to be more than best friends. But this had stopped once she had started dating Seth, everyone seemingly giving up on the idea. But obviously she had been wrong. "What do you think we should do? I mean, us pretending to date and holding hands and all that stuff isn't exactly working. "

"Yeah, but it's still keeping Seth away."

"But-"

And before he lost the courage to do it, Ned interrupted, uttering the phrase that would certainly shape their relationship from then on.

"I think we should kiss."

And suddenly, all at once, everything seemed to change again.

* * *

_To be continued… _


	4. Open Your Eyes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's Declassified SSG **

**So, here's the next chapter. I'm sorry that I took so long, but I've been extremely busy with my graduation and stuff. I'm officially graduated now:D It took me a long time to write this chapter because I wanted it to be very good, and I really hope I achieved it. I hope you guys like it! **

**By the way, you are so amazing! I never dreamed of getting over 100 reviews for a three chapter story. It's really hard to believe, but I'm glad you like the story, though, because I'm having a blast writing it. So thank you to all the people who reviewed for last chapter. **

**As always, I only ask for one thing, please review! A few long reviews make my day and keep me writing ;) **

* * *

_They had been sitting her room, doing nothing out of the normal, just watching an old movie, when he had eyed their old middle school yearbook sitting inconspicuously on top of her desk, under several others, looking forgotten. _

_Ned had stood up and reached for it, as Moze looked at him curiously, but turned back to her movie. _

"_So why are you sitting here with me on a Saturday night instead of being out with your boyfriend?" he asked her as he sat down next to her bed, looking through the pages of the old book. _

"_He has a basketball game or something like that tonight," She responded, turning off the TV and sitting up next to him. "And besides, what's so wrong with hanging out with my best friend?" _

_Ned smiled at her last comment, glad that they could spend some time together without Seth interrupting. "So what if Seth has a game? You could have gone," he continued. _

"_He didn't want me there, something about me making him nervous, or something like that." _

_Ned looked at her strangely. "Honestly, if it was me, I would love to have you there. If anything it would have make me play better." Ned blushed as he realized what he had just said. _

"_Oh well, Seth has been acting weird around me lately, like he's hiding something from me," she responded, looking over Ned's shoulder at the pictures in the yearbook. "But maybe I'm just imagining things. Anyways, summer is coming up and I get to spend all of my time with him." _

_Ned frowned listening to her but started chuckling suddenly, looking at the picture that lay before them. It was the one that proclaimed him and Moze like the perfect couple. "Do you remember this?" he asked her, without thinking. _

"_How can I not?" she asked him laughing. "The rumor mill started working immediately and everybody thought we were really together, again," she told him, rolling her eyes. "And we had to fake breaking up again too, so that everybody would be convinced." _

"_Yeah, you and me, together? I don't know how they came up with that," Ned laughed at his own comment, as if it was something hard to believe. "We would kill each other before the first day was over," he told her jokingly. "But I guess this is one of the' perks' of having a female best friend," he told her squeezing her shoulder lightly. _

_But she didn't listen to the last part of his declaration. _

"_Yeah, it would be impossible for us to be together," she whispered sadly so only she could hear. But even if she wouldn't admit it then, she wished that someway or another, it could be. _

-

* * *

**Her first reaction was to widen her eyes**. Had she heard right? Had Ned suggested that they kiss? Moze stared at him, her mouth gaping. Surely he couldn't really had said that. 

Ned avoided her eyes, instead looking down at his feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. He couldn't believe he had actually told her this. It was second time in a week that his stupid mouth got him into an awkward situation. Sure, she had agreed to pretend to date him the first time he had said something stupid, but Ned seriously doubted that practical-minded Moze would agree to _this._ It had been torturing enough for them to kiss the previous times they had had to do it. Not that kissing Moze was a bad thing, but he really didn't think that she would even consider it. But for some strange reason, part of him wished she would.

"Ned, are you serious about it?" she spoke up finally, choosing to look at the horizon instead. Moze was so nervous she didn't even want to look at him.

Ned opened his mouth several times, unable to speak, rather like a fish out of water. He raised his blue eyes in time to look at her walking closer to the water's edge, the wind playing softly with her hair. She looked deep in thought, and wondered if she was really thinking what he hoped she was. He knew there was no way back once he opened his mouth again. No more lying to himself either.

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers, asking himself if he was doing the right thing. But he was only doing it to help her out, like she had done with Missy, _right?_ Sitting up and stretching, he stood up and joined her at the water's edge, imitating her and looking towards the horizon as if trying to look for an answer in it. He opened his mouth again, gathering up his courage, still not looking directly at her. "Yes, I think we should do it. There's nothing more convincing than that."

Moze's heart seemed to jump into her throat as she swallowed nervously, "I-I think we should do it too." She couldn't believe she had actually said it. Moze really couldn't believe that she was actually thinking seriously about it. She just hoped she wouldn't regret it sooner or later. But if this didn't keep Seth away, she didn't know what she would do.

Ned smiled slightly, still avoiding her eyes so that she couldn't see it. After a few moments, he turned around, only to find Moze stealing a glance at him. But she turned away once she perceived that he had noticed her stare, blushing. _"There's something different about her,"_ he repeated to himself. But he couldn't put his finger on it. Something inside of her had changed in the last few days, and he wanted to know what it was.

"So, how should we do it?" she asked softly trying to break the awkward silence between them.

"I guess that the next time Seth looks at us, we just do it. It isn't exactly rocket science."

Moze looked at him curiously and giggled slightly. He was being entirely too serious about the whole situation. He wasn't even trying to joke or goof around, which was pretty normal in him. Normally, he would have just taken the proposal lightly. But instead, she could see the internal battle raging within him through his eyes, which were clouded. Choosing to ignore these things, she spoke up, agreeing with him once more.

"Ned?" she asked him softly, turning to really face him for the first time in a long time. It was then when she noticed how close he was. Blushing slightly, she looked into his eyes, thinking about what to say. "Don't you think it'll be a bit awkward for us to kiss?" she asked him, voicing the obvious.

He sighed, stepping even closer to her, butterflies bursting alive in his stomach. "Maybe. I mean, it's not everyday that you kiss your best friend. But there's nothing we can do, just go with it. And besides, it's not the first time we do it," he told her blushing.

Daringly, she took another step towards him, until there noses were almost touching. She blushed again. "There's one thing we could do," she told him, looking into his eyes.

Ned gazed puzzled at her. Was she thinking what he thought she was? "Do you mean you want to_ practice_?" he asked bewildered.

She bit her lips nervously. "Yeah I mean, it's supposed to be something natural. We're 'dating', remember?" Moze closed her eyes. She couldn't take this tension for much longer. "We don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I just think that this will help us look more real. If it looks forced, Seth won't believe it."

Ned could remember the last time they had kissed. Their chemistry seemed to have sizzled, and he had almost forgotten then that he was actually kissing his best friend and not the girl of his dreams. He wondered if it would feel the same. But something inside of him told him that even after all these years, kissing Moze would still make him feel as if fireworks had exploded in his head. He doubted it had ever looked forced _or_ awkward in the first place, but he wasn't about to tell her that now.

Ned looked at her, still nervous, but he knew that she was right. But why was he feeling so elated? He wished he could understand himself. Instead, he raised his right hand and framed her face gently, deciding to take the initiative. It couldn't hurt to try. And besides, she was the one that had suggested it. Maybe this would help him figure out his dilemma.

She opened her eyes surprised, as she felt his hand upon her face. "W-what are you doing?" she asked stammering, placing her own hand upon his own, as if trying to prove that she wasn't imagining it.

"Well, you just said that we should practice it, and I think you're right," Ned told her, leaning in to whisper into her ear.

The only thing she could really do then was nod slightly, as goosebumps traveled up her arms as she felt his breath on her ear and cheeks. She pulled away slightly to look into his blue eyes again, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but all she found was a foreign expression in his face. Moze knew he was trying to hide something from her, because Ned knew she could seize him up in one second only by stealing a glance at him. He never hid something from her. Intertwining her fingers with his, she started to lean in, deciding to go with it, ignoring the practical side of her mind who was telling her that she would regret it later. When their lips were a few inches apart, she paused, looking into his eyes once more, full of doubt.

It was now or never.

Ned squeezed her fingers reassuringly and closed the remaining space between them, finally joining their lips finally and closing their eyes.

Both of them sighed contently. At the beginning, they stayed like that, their lips just pushed together, neither of them moving. Ned pulled away slightly from her, observing her, and smiled at her somewhat content expression. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to try again, he leaned in again, this time caressing her lips with his own. The moment she started kissing him back, Ned knew he was lost.

He wrapped his free arm around her waist tightly, pulling her closer to him, as she sighed again and buried her hand into his messy hair. And yes, as so many years before, the fireworks exploded in his head. So his theory had been right. But Ned forgot all about it as he concentrated at the task at hand, kissing Moze softly. And she didn't seem to be pulling away either. In fact, she deepened their kiss even more. And just when he thought his luck couldn't get better, her cell phone started ringing, bringing him back to reality.

Great.

He pulled away from her, somewhat disappointed, as she reached into her jean's pocket for her ringing phone as she disentangled herself form his embrace. She opened it quickly, speaking into it.

He took advantage of her distraction to slip onto the ground and bury his face in his hands. What was happening to him?

Moze's hands were trembling as he held the phone to her ear, not paying attention to her mom as she spoke to her, telling her something about her being late to dinner. To say that she had been surprised by Ned's kiss was an understatement. But she knew that she couldn't say anything. They were just pretending, after all. But as she thought about it then, his kisses were entirely different from Seth's. Maybe she had been imagining things, but Ned's kiss just had seemed more…caring.

"_Honey?" _Her mother asked interrupting her troubling thoughts, _"are you okay?"_

"Yes, mom, I'm okay," she said into the phone, telling her that she would be home soon, and not to worry.

If only Ned could say the same thing.

"Ned, are you coming?" Moze asked him after hanging up the phone, walking towards their houses. He sighed again, running a hand through his hair wishing life wasn't so confusing. Most of all, he wanted to ask her what she had felt when they had kissed. Maybe he wasn't the only one feeling weird. But she looked entirely normal to him. So instead, he followed her silently, wondering what he had done to deserve this.

* * *

"You're telling me you kissed Moze," Cookie repeated what Ned had just told him, as if deciphering a secret message. 

"Yeah," said Ned, placing his head on his desk and closing his tired eyes as the science teacher rambled about God knows what. He hadn't been able to sleep last night, going over the events of the past day. He should have been calm, Moze was after all only his best friend, but for some reason he was unsettled.

"So you're trying to tell me that you kissed our best friend and that it was something normal?" Cookie continued, raising an eyebrow at Ned.

"Yeah," he responded, sitting up, deciding it was impossible to fall asleep on top of the hard desk. Instead, he started doodling in his notebook, ignoring completely the notes that he was supposed to be taking. "What?" he asked, shrinking under Cookie's inquisitive gaze.

"Ned, I think it's quite impossible to kiss someone so close to you and feel absolutely nothing."

"I beg to differ," was Ned's only response. "Like I've said before, it was like kissing a wall," he lied. "I'm just doing this to help her, remember?"

"Wait a minute, when have you ever told me it was like kissing a wall?"

"Cookie, I told you that the last time Moze and I ki--" He shut up once he realized what he was about to say.

"You have kissed before?" Cookie whispered loudly. Ned put his hand on top of his mouth before everyone in the room heard him.

"Yeah, but it was mostly accidental or we were forced into doing it. So it wasn't any different this time around."

"Yeah, but this time it was _you_ who came up with the idea to kiss," he answered. "And obviously, you did it willingly."

"Well, that way maybe we can convince Seth quicker and she'll be safe."

"But what I don't understand is why you kissed her yesterday, with no audience. You did it twice, mind you, if I remember correctly."

"I told you already, Cookie. We were _practicing_. It was Moze's idea, not mine," Ned told him, as Cookie looked confused. He would have to ask Moze later about it. It certainly didn't seem to be something Moze would do. How could Ned not spot that?

"Yeah, but you still went on with it," Cookie pointed out.

"So?"

"You're not one to kiss a girl just because," he said rolling his eyes. How dense could he be?

"Who said I don't do that? Remember that time I let Missy kiss me?"

"Yeah, but that was different," Cookie continued to argue, trying to make Ned realize a certain little something.

"How was it different?" he asked frowning.

Cookie slapped a hand against his forehead. So yeah, apparently, he could be _very_ dense. He readjusted the glasses on his nose, sighing, and said, "First of all, _she_ kissed you, not the other way around. And second of all, the only reason you let her do it was because you were tired of her pursuing you like a crazy-woman all over the school."

"_So?"_ Ned repeated once more, starting to annoy Cookie. "I already told you. I'm only doing this to help Moze, it's only pretending. Once Seth leaves her alone, we'll drop the act and things will be normal again," Ned responded, trying to convince not only Cookie, but himself as well.

But Cookie seriously doubted that. If this didn't make them both open their eyes, he didn't know what would. He was seriously starting to consider locking them up together until they admitted to each other and to themselves that there were more than friendly feelings between them. He sighed defeated. Obviously Ned wouldn't listen to him now. He guessed it was something he was going to have to figure out in his own.

The bell for lunch rang and they began gathering up their stuff. "So you're sure you are only pretending then?" he asked for the last time.

"Yes," Ned answered, somewhat insecure.

"I just hope neither of you ends up getting hurt by this," he told Ned as he started walking towards the door.

And all Ned could do was look at him speechless. He hoped he was right.

* * *

Moze walked out of class tiredly, beside Lisa, talking about nothing special at all. Truth to be told, she hadn't been able to concentrate on anything that wasn't related to her 'boyfriend', and she was starting to get annoyed with herself because of it. The worst thing was that she had told Lisa everything about it, hoping she would help her clear her head, as always, but the only thing that had really happened was that she had gained something new to think about. 

Could it be that her crush on Ned had come back?

She hadn't thought it possible, but everything had been so confusing lately that Moze knew that anything could happen.

"So what are you doing on the weekend?" Lisa asked, trying to distract her.

"Ned is taking me out in a fake date, but other than that, I don't think I'll be doing much else," she answered.

"We can go to the mall and start looking for dresses for the dance," Lisa suggested.

The dance. Moze had completely forgotten about that. She groaned.

Lisa looked strangely at her. "Hey, I thought you liked going shopping?" she asked, as she watched her best friend start slightly banging her head against her locker.

"I just realized that Ned and I can't 'break up' before the dance or Seth will ask me to be his date to it, and that's almost three weeks away!"

"So? Just keep pretending until the dance, and you guys can drop the act after it."

"I don't know if I can take this 'act' for much longer Lisa. Why does everything have to be so complicated?"

Lisa laughed. "The answer to this is actually _very_ simple," she told Moze, pulling her away from the locker before she seriously hurt herself.

"Care to explain it to me?" Moze asked her irritably, "Because I simply don't find the way to get out of this mess."

"Oh Moze, Moze. How can you be so smart and _not _see what's right in front of you?"

"What are you talking about Lisa? Moze asked her bemusedly.

"It's easy. You just have to admit that you like him," she responded as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Like who?" Moze asked still confused. Lisa sure was acting strange today.

She only looked disbelievingly at her. "Oh please tell me that _at least_ you have a small idea about what I'm talking about!" she told her a bit exasperated. Surely she couldn't be _this _stubborn.

"No," was the only response she got from Moze.

"You like him!" she told her,

"Who's him?" Moze still asked, now understanding what she was trying to tell her, but still trying to avoid the awkward conversation.

"You like somebody?" Ned asked as he interrupted them, placing his arms around Moze.

He had overhead the last part of the conversation, but Lisa knew he wouldn't be able to figure it out too. She really didn't understand how both of them could be so _blind_.

"I thought _I _was your boyfriend," he joked, trying to hide his worries. Could she have liked somebody else all this time they had been pretending?

"No, we were talking about our math teacher," Lisa lied, as Cookie came to stand next to her. "Moze likes the way he teaches…" She looked pointedly at Moze who ignored her.

"Ned, we're going to have to go to the dance together," Moze said instead, changing the subject.

Again, Ned looked confused. "Why?" he asked, as he noticed that Moze had blushed as he put his arms around her.

Moze rolled his eyes. "Isn't obvious?"

"No," he responded.

"Well, unless, you want me to go with Seth, Then I have to go with you. Remember? We're 'dating'!" she told him making quotation marks with her fingers.

Ned thought about it for a moment. "Ohhhhh!" he said as realization hit him. "Yeah I remember now."

Moze rolled her eyes again. "You can be so _clueless_ sometimes," she told him as he blushed.

Cookie and Lisa looked at each other, and burst into laughter. Weren't they both?

They stood by their lockers, just chatting having a good time as Seth passed them on his way to the lunch room, but stopped to stare at Ned and Moze, who were still wrapped in each other's arms.

"What?" he asked, tightening his grip on Moze.

"Seth is looking right at us," she whispered into his ear.

"Moze!" he heard Seth call, as he walked towards them, but they ignored him pretending to look adoringly at each other. Without thinking twice about it, Ned leaned down and captured her lips in a soft kiss, pulling her closer to him, as she raised her arms to encircle his neck. Relishing in her embrace, he deepened the kiss and opened an eye slightly to find Lisa and Cookie looking at them in a knowing manner and Seth with his mouth wide open in shock a few feet away.

And then suddenly, Ned understood the reason to his dilemma.

He was in love with his best friend.

Things were just about to get even more complicated.

_

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	5. Only Hope

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's Declassified SSG. **

**So, I finally finished this chapter. I had it almost complete for a few days now, but for some reason, it has been very difficult to write. This chapter just about drove me crazy. I have battled with endlessly, and I really hope it turned out well. On the other hand, it's the longest one I have written for this story. Its over 4,800 words. I don't even know how I wrote so much. **

**I will continue with this story, so don't worry. Even thought they've gotten together in the show, I like to think that there were other ways this could have happened. Anyways, thank you so much to all the people who reviewed for the last chapter! And please, remember to review for this one as well. ;)**

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"_Are you seriously telling me that you are _jealous_, of _Ned_?" She asked him furiously, pulling away from him. _

_Seth stepped closer to her, pushing a hand through his blond hair. "I am _not_ jealous of him!" he told her. "I just don't like you spending so much time with him." _

"_Well, then why don't _you_ hang around so that we can spend time together? You haven't have time for us for a long while now," she fumed, resisting the urge to walk away. Moze was really having trouble understanding her boyfriend right now, and the last thing she wanted to do was spend the little time they had together fighting. _

"_That is not a point! That I'm busy with other things doesn't mean that you have the right to spend all your time with other guys!" Seth reached for her wrist and held it in a strong grip, speaking right into her face. _

"_I can't believe you! Ned is my best friend for goodness' sake! It's not like I have feelings for him." Moze struggled with his grip, tears starting to fill her eyes. She couldn't really believe that Seth doubted her. _

"_I'm not so sure about that," Seth told her, laughing sarcastically. _

_Now she was angry. Moze broke free of his grip and slapped him slightly, frustrated. "Of course I don't have feelings for him. I'm with you, remember? I love you, not him. I don't even know how you could think these things." _

_Seth raised his hand to his face, where she had slapped him, and watched as tears flowed down the face of his girlfriend. He looked down at the floor, ashamed. She was right, as always. "I'm sorry," he told her softly, still not daring to look at her. _

"_I just wish you would be around more often," she told him. A small sob racked her body. "I'm tired of being second best to basketball." _

"_I know, I know," he told her, pulling her into a somewhat comforting embrace. "I promise I'll try to spend more time with you." _

_Moze sighed, knowing that it wasn't true. He would leave her, and forget about his promise, just like he had numerous times. She closed her eyes, wondering who Seth could be jealous of Ned. He was only her best friend. But regretfully, she knew that Ned wouldn't have done this to her. He would never make her cry. _

* * *

**Ned closed his eyes again in realization.** He never thought this would be the answer to his dilemma. What in the world was he going to do now? He pretty much couldn't tell Moze that he had fallen for her. Come on, they were best friends. 

And the fact that they were pretending to date didn't help his situation much. He pulled her closer, if it was possible, and poured all his frustration into their kiss, kissing her roughly. _Did she even know what she was doing to him?_

Unfortunately, the need for oxygen was too great, and regretfully, he pulled away, panting a bit. When he raised his gaze from the floor he found that the hallway was empty but the two of them, and that Moze was looking at him with a strange look in her face. He grinned, however, when he noticed that she was blushing a bright scarlet color.

"What's wrong now?" he asked her jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. "Are _you_ afraid of _me_ now?" he told her.

"As if," she continued, stepping away from him and raising her nose. "You know I'm not a PDA kind of person," she justified, looking anywhere but his eyes, so that Ned couldn't figure out that she were lying. "But don't you think that you got a bit carried away there?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Damn, Moze had caught him. "Maybe," he admitted, observing her. "But it goes with the part," he explained. "It looks like Seth went for it, anyways." He pushed a hand through his messy hair, trying to make it behave, after she had made it messier during their kiss.

Moze laughed, however, noticing that the only thing he had really accomplished was making it even messier. "Here, let me help," she told Ned, stepping closer to him. She stood on her toes as he bent slightly so that she could reach the top of his head. Raising her right hand, she pushed it into his hair gently, trying to tame his hair with her fingers.

Ned shivered at her touch, as she continued to stroke his hair. She ignored this however, and nonchalantly stepped away to admire her handiwork. "There," she told him. "I tamed it as much as I could. Have you heard about a comb? You should really try passing it through your hair once or twice..."

"Ha ha," he told her sarcastically as he checked his watch. "Are you coming to lunch?" he asked her. "Because if you want to eat before the bell rings we have to leave now," Ned told her, trying to avoid his sudden epiphany for the moment.

"Of course I am. I don't want to starve to death," Moze said, leading the way to the cafeteria. "And by the way, Ned," she continued smiling, reaching for his hand as they reached the cafeteria doors, "I like your hair better when it's messier." This said, she reached up and slightly messed up his hair again. Taking advantage of the situation, she kissed his cheek softly as she pulled him towards their usual table.

For one glorious moment, Ned forgot that they were only pretending.

**

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He opened the front door of his house, glad for once that he would have the house to himself for a few more hours. He climbed the stairs and entered his somewhat messy room, dropping his bag near the desk. He then fell upon his bed face down, burying his face in the dark blue covers.

_How could he have been so oblivious? Moze_ was right. He was too clueless for his own good. How could have he fallen in for his best friend and not know it until now?

After all, maybe it wasn't Moze who had changed. Maybe it had been him all long. He was the one that was different. But Ned knew this wasn't true at all. Now that he reflected and remembered many things, he realized he had probably fallen for Moze long ago. He groaned. That was even worse. Ned just hoped that she hadn't noticed it.

He sat up on his bed, still deep thought and spotted a picture frame sitting on top of his desk. In it the ten-year-old versions Moze and himself were smiling brightly at the camera. Looking at that picture now, he wished he could that old again. Life was so simple then. It would be nice to have nothing major to worry about.

If someone would have told Ned back then that he would fall in love with the girl next to him, he would have told them they were crazy. He didn't understand how his feelings toward Moze had changed so much. But now he knew why he compared every girl he met to her.

It suddenly seemed as if his life had been turned up side down. Ned didn't even know that that something that from the outside seemed so simple could do this. Now something as straightforward as spending time with his best friend presented a dilemma. How was he supposed to act normally around her, now that he knew that he felt something so strong for Moze?

Ignorance is bliss, he remembered. He had never thought that it was true, but now Ned knew that it was true. He would have rather stayed oblivious to it all. _"Now I have to pretend like I feel nothing at all,"_ he thought sadly. And that wasn't something he could do easily, considering Moze was one of his closest friends and not to mention, his pretend girlfriend for the moment.

There was only one other thing he could do, but Ned didn't even consider the option.

He knew that he couldn't tell Jennifer Mosley, his best friend for over thirteen years that he was in love with her. He didn't think it would go to well. There was no chance that she would feel the same way. Ned doubted that she would even take him seriously. Moze would probably take it as a joke.

He liked to think that maybe he should take the risk and tell her. But there was too much at stake here. Ned knew that he could probably ruin their friendship by uttering those three simple words, and that was something he wasn't willing to risk. Sure he knew that maybe if he told her and she didn't feel the same way, they would pretend like it never happened. But things would then be awkward between him and Moze, and he didn't want that either.

He remembered all the times they had kissed now. That kiss in the end-of-year dace in seventh grade seemed to have let it loose. He didn't even remember exactly how many times they had kissed since then, but he remembered every time very clearly. Now he understood why every time they happened to kiss, it had felt special and why butterflies had exploded in his stomach. Now he understood why kissing other girls never had the same spark. It didn't matter if he had been forced into doing it, or it had been a complete accident, Ned knew that he would have wanted to kiss Moze anyway. He laughed out loud, glad that he had some sort of excuse for every time he had, but at the same time, he wished he didn't need an excuse to kiss his best friend.

He waked back to his bed and sat on its edge, facing the window. As he looked through it, he observed as the door to Moze's bedroom opened and she walked in calmly. She moved around the room, doing nothing out of the ordinary, but Ned couldn't pull his eyes from her.

He smiled then, realizing that maybe it wasn't so bad that he had fallen for his best friend. It didn't matter from which angle you looked at it, Moze was a great girl, and he knew that anyone who had the chance to be with her would be very lucky. It really was no wonder that he had fallen for her, but he seriously wished he could do something about it. Maybe if she just gave him a sign or something, he could tell her just how much he cared for her.

Maybe he still he had a chance.

Moze raised her eyes in time to find him looking at her from his room, and she gave him a bright smile. Ned smiled too, and raised his hand to say hi. He let him himself fall on the bed again, closing his eyes, the smile still on his face.

Maybe after all, it wasn't so difficult. He could deal with it. Because what he wanted the most for Moze was that she could be happy, even if that meant living in unrequited love for the rest of his life.

**

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**

Instead of going out to the movies on Friday night as they had originally planned for their fake date, Ned and Moze had decided to spend Saturday afternoon on the beach, enjoying not only the sun and the fun, but also the fact that most of their classmates—including Seth—would be there. After all, this was one of the last chances they would have to enjoy the beach before the temperatures dropped and they became busy with schoolwork.

For Ned, however, this date was real. Or it was as close as he was going to get to a date with Moze, so he found himself planning out the details so that she wouldn't have to worry about anything. _"Just like any guy would do for his girlfriend," _he had thought ironically.

On Saturday afternoon he walked next door to Moze's house, carrying the picnic basket his mother had helped him prepare. He laughed remembering that his mom had looked suspiciously at him when he had told her that he was going to go to beach with Moze, just the two of them, and that he had wanted to prepare the picnic. And he wasn't exactly the world's greatest cook, so he had enlisted her work to ensure the afternoon was perfect.

You see, they hadn't really told their mothers that they were 'dating'.

They knew that it would be awkward, so they were trying to keep it a secret for as long as possible. Especially now, that Ned had figured out his real feelings for Moze, he would rather keep it quiet. He had the suspicion that his mother had known all along that he liked Moze, and she would say something along the lines of telling 'I knew it!'

He opened the front door of Moze's house without knocking, as he always did, and called for her. Moze ran down the stairs, smiling widely. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek as greeting, as he pulled her towards the door. He had borrowed his mother's car that afternoon, so that they wouldn't have to walk all the way to the beach. Ned opened the door for her and climbed in, pulling away from the driveway.

What they didn't know was that Mrs. Mosley was looking at them from behind the living room curtain. She knew there was something fishy going on, but she knew that her daughter would tell her when he was ready. She just hoped that both of them did something before it was too late.

When they arrived at the beach, they were surprised to see how crowded it really was. They picked a spot hear the water and she laid the blanket. Moze looked around the beach and laughed as she spotted Seth lounging around with some girls, showing off his non-existent surf abilities. Moze doubted that he even knew which the right side of the board was. Ned followed her gaze and laughed too.

"And he says he wants to get back to you. He might as well give up now."

"Do you think he really believed our act after we kissed?" she asked him.

"Well, he hasn't exactly said anything yet,"

"I think it was pretty convincing," Moze told him, smoothing out the blanket so that they could sit. Moze had to admit that it had felt pretty real to her.

"Yeah, but I think we should play it safe for now. And as you said, we have to go to the dance together."

Moze smiled at him at the prospect of going to the dance together. Couple or not, she knew that they were going to have a blast. He excused himself, saying something about having forgotten something in the car and having to go get it. Ned stood up and walked away, leaving Moze to look around curiously at the beach. Her eyes fell upon Seth, who was still flirting like there was no tomorrow with the girls around him. Apparently, he still hadn't spotted Ned and Moze on the beach. And she was glad of it. This way, she could concentrate on spending a fun day with Ned.

When Ned returned, Moze blushed at she stared—yes, _stared_—at her best friend. Sometimes she really wondered how her scrawny, not too tall friend had become so _gorgeous_. There was no other word for it. Ned had apparently decided that it was too hot outside, and had pulled his shirt over his head as he walked towards her, oblivious to her look.

Moze prided herself on being the type of girl that didn't really care for physical aspect. For her, personality was everything, especially when she was looking at a guy. She couldn't understand why most of the girls went for the handsome, superficial boys. But she wasn't blind either.

At almost eighteen, Ned could no longer be considered scrawny. If anything, he looked more like those guys that were normally found in magazine ads. At almost eighteen years old, Ned had grown to be over six feet tall. Not to mention the fact the all the soccer training had left his body very nicely toned. Of course, it wasn't the first time she had seen Ned in his bathing suit, but this was the first time she had actually noticed how nice he looked. She was glad, however, that as his 'girlfriend' she was allowed to stare as much as she wanted too. And she was certainly not the only one looking at him. Already he had caught the attention of some of the girls on the beach.

As he got closer, Moze was able to look on the opposite direction. She chastised herself for thinking things she wasn't supposed to about her best friend. But she couldn't help recalling the image in her mind. She blushed again, remembering that this was the way he was going to look for the rest of the day, considering they were at the beach. Moze sighed wishing that they had chosen a different location for their date. These things were much more easily ignored when he was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. Instead, she let her eyes fall on Seth again, and she laughed, noticing that he had seen Ned and Moze, and that he was frantically trying to pull away from all the girls and pretend that he wasn't flirting with them in the first place. He sighed defeated, however, as he noticed Moze was laughing at him, obviously having seen everything. He groaned again when he realized she wasn't alone in the beach. Ned followed Moze gaze and glared at Seth, who glared back, but he turned his attention back at the girl sitting in the blanket.

Ned set the picnic basket he had prepared next to her, on the blanket Moze had extended on the warm sand. Ned sat next to her, observing her curiously. "Moze," he told her, "I think you should put some sunscreen on. We've only been here about ten minutes and already you are looking sunburned."

This only caused her to blush even more. Moze couldn't believe she had been this obvious. She laughed nervously, telling him he was right and reached for the beach bag she had brought along for her sunscreen. Finding it finally under her towel, she spread the sticky white substance on her uncovered shoulders and face. She opened her mouth to tell Ned something, but before she could, he burst out laughing. "What?" she asked him confused.

"You missed a spot," Ned told her.

"Where?" she asked, trying to place on her face with her fingers.

She looked adorable, touching her face, trying to find the offending sunscreen. Taking pity on her, Ned scooted closer to her. "Here, let me."

As soon as he sat closer to her Moze's heart started beating wildly. He kneeled next to her, raising his hand to her face. Ned spread the smudge of sunscreen on her cheek gently, making her blush again. But she noticed that his hand remained longer than necessary upon her face, and he seemed to be blushing slightly too. But maybe he was only sunburned too.

Sighing, Ned sat next to her again, placing an arm behind her, so that Moze could lean on it. Taking up on the offer, she leaned her back on it, closing her eyes and enjoying the warm rays of sun. They sat there for a while, silent, not knowing what to say each other. Ned broke the tense silence as he reached over and tickled her slightly on the side, making her burst into giggles. She hit him squarely on his bare chest.

"Want to go into the water?" he asked her, standing up.

"Not really," she responded, looking up at him.

"Aw, come on, Moze, you won't melt with a little water…I think."

She laughed and let Ned grab her hand pull her up into a standing position. She looked around at the crowded beach as he let her go to look for his own sunscreen. Moze started pulling her t-shirt over head to reveal her red and white-polka dot bikini top. This was the one thing she disliked about the beach. Sure, she didn't mind being in her bathing with her friends, but it was uncomfortable for her to do it in front of others, especially when the beach was so crowded. And although normally she didn't really care about what others thought about how she looked, with only her bathing suit on, she felt vulnerable, especially when she saw other good looking girls on the beach. That she didn't especially care for physical aspect didn't mean that others didn't. Noticing that Ned still had his back on her, she quickly dropped her shorts too, telling herself that she had to stop being this shy. She sighed, wishing Ned would hurry up. Once she was in the water she would be safe.

Ned turned back to her, and he noticed that she seemed to be trying to cover up herself. "Moze," Ned told her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and leaned in to whisper into her ear. "You have nothing to worry about," he continued to tell her, as if he could read her mind. Actually, he probably could.

She laughed somewhat sardonically, still trying to cover herself with her arms. "Sorry to wake you up Ned, but I don't look anything like all of the other nice girls on the beach," she told him, looking around them to prove her point.

"True," he responded. Moze's heart sunk. Apparently, he had also gotten a good look. And she had naively that maybe he would pretend that they were alone there, with no girls to distract him. "None of them are as beautiful as you," he told her.

Moze looked at Ned surprised at what he had just told her, but she reminded herself that he was only pretending. Ignoring his comment instead, she pulled him towards the water, looking at it doubtfully.

"What is it now, Moze?" Ned asked her, standing in front of her, his back towards the water.

She stepped into the gentle waves, and laughed mischievously. Before Ned knew what she was doing, she had tackled him, dunking both of them into the water. A few moments later they surfaced, Ned breathing deeply, his arms around Moze's waist. He was shivering. "Why did you do that?" he asked her. "It's cold!"

She laughed, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes. "It isn't cold Ned," Moze responded. "And you said _I_ was afraid of the water," Moze continued, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! I am _not_ afraid of the water." Ned told her, looking away from her and pulling them both into a deeper part of the ocean. "I … just needed to mentally prepare for the coldness of the water."

She laughed again at his remark and hit him playfully on the chest. They spent the next hours or so like that, wresting in the water and joking around for each other, just having fun.

They returned to their place on the beach, spotting Lisa and Cookie on it, and waved at them so that they would join them. As they did, Moze reached for the picnic basket that Ned had brought along, opened it and looked at its contents doubtfully.

"What?" Ned asked her as he interrupted his chatter with Cookie.

Moze grinned, looking at him. "Are you sure this food is safe to eat? With your cooking skills, you never know,"

"Hey! I'm not _that_ bad," Ned argue as the rest of them laughed.

"I beg to differ, Ned," Cookie told him still laughing. "I still remember the last time we tried to eat something you prepared."

"Yeah, yeah," Ned said rolling his eyes at his laughing friends.

After this, Moze was pretty much lost in her thoughts, reflecting upon the events of the day. She realized she hadn't had this fun in a long time. Heck, she had almost forgotten about the whole pretend scheme and the presence of Seth on the beach. For her, what it really had been was a fun, normal day with her best friend on the beach, and not a fake date.

As time went on, especially due to their situation, Moze was really starting to believe that her feelings for Ned were coming back, and they were even stronger than before. But she couldn't fall for that. She didn't want to risk getting hurt again. Although she knew that Ned always had the best intentions at heart, recently she had learned that anything could happen. And she knew that she didn't stand a chance with him. Ned had stated numerous times now that sure, he liked her, but only as a friend.

So, even if she had any feelings for him, there was no use. Ned wouldn't feel the same way about her.

She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that her friends starting getting up, saying something about going to the bonfire that was being prepared. Ned started packing up, but he noticed her distraction, a kneeled next to Moze, placing a hand under her chin and pulling her eyes to meet his.

"Are you okay?" he asked her concerned, pulling her away from her thoughts.

Moze smiled. "Yes I am," she told him, standing up. Maybe he wasn't her real boyfriend, but Moze knew that she was lucky to have such a great friend. And while didn't make her the happiest woman alive, it made her life complete. And that was enough for now.

As the sun set behind them, Ned reached for her hand and they headed towards the bonfire that was being built, with Lisa and Cookie following behind. They reached the bonfire and chose a random place to sit together on the sand, continuing their earlier conversation. Moze sat between his knees, leaning against his strong chest. Ned's arms were wrapped tightly around her shoulders, her elbows on his knees and her fingers entwined with his. Moze sighed contently, closing her eyes and relaxing into Ned's embrace. It wasn't until now that she had noticed how well she fit into his frame, and she relished on the fact that she was allowed to do this as much as she wanted.

Ned observed her relaxed form and wondered how she could really be so close and still not be able to have her. He leaned down and kissed her lips lightly, taking adavantage of the setting. It hadn't been easy getting through the last few days, especially today. Pretending to be her boyfriend was starting to kill him inside. Ned knew that soon he would be burst. He thought he could handle it, but every day it was getting harder to place his arms around her, to kiss her, and supposedly feel nothing at all. He wanted to tell her right now, what he really felt, but again reminded himself that there was too much at stake, and that all he could really do was wait. So instead, he decided to forget everything and just have fun with Moze, who over all things was his best friend.

As the night went on, they somehow wished that the night would never end, because the dawn of the new day brought only with it the awareness that even after everything that had occurred in the last week, they were only best friends pretending to be more. Tonight, they could pretend that all of it was real. If only life resembled fairytales a bit more, maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have to dream about being together. Instead, that would be the story of their lives. But as always, life constantly remembered them that not everything had to have a happily ever after ending.

Unfortunately for them, neither of them no longer believed that they were meant to be together. So instead, they settled for the second best, and could only hope that either way, they could be happy.

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To be continued...


	6. Sun

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Ned's Declassified. ****

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_They were lying down in his backyard, looking up at the stars, without talking. Until Ned interrupted the peaceful silence. "What are you looking for Moze?_

"_What am I looking for?" she repeated his question softly._

"_What will make you happy?" he asked, rephrasing his question turning his head to look at her. _

"_I don't think it's a '_what_' question Ned. Truthfully, it's a '_who_' one." _

_Ned sighed. "Well then, who will make you happy?" he asked. _

"_I just want somebody to love me for being _me_. Not because of my looks, just somebody who knows me better than anybody. Somebody who will love me _no matter what_." _

_Ned sighed. Sometimes he forgot that Moze was so idealistic, so romantic. Especially lately that she was with Seth. "That sounds wonderful Moze. I _know_ you'll find that someone." He reached for her hand, which was lying on the grass next to her and squeezed it. _

"_I hope so, Ned," she continued, somewhat sadly. _

"_Moze?" He was almost afraid of asking the next question, but he kept his look on her. _

"_Yes?" she asked softly squeezing his hand. _

"_Do you think Seth is that person?" Ned turned his look away from her, looking at the full moon instead. He wasn't quite sure why, but he was afraid that her answer would crush his heart. _

_She thought about it for a while. Was he, really? She didn't know why, but she smiled when she reached her conclusion. "No, he isn't." _

_Ned's heart wasn't crushed. Instead, it seemed to leap from joy. _

-

* * *

**Ned kicked the ball with all his strength, venting out his frustrations out on it. **It had been such a long week—a long, hard, grueling, dreadful week. Once he saw that the ball had entered the rival net, he walked back slowly to his starting position. Soccer practice would end soon and for once he was glad. He was so tired he knew he could lie on the green grass and fall asleep there, and wouldn't wake up for a few days. Luckily for him it was Friday, and he could slack off as much as he wanted for the rest of the week. The coach decided that it had been enough and told his players that they were free to go. Ned smiled slightly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, and then groaned. Damn, he had forgotten. 

**Moze. **

He finally let his body collapse on the green grass, observing the rain-threatened skies above him. Normally he wouldn't mind spending time with her, after all Moze was his best friend. But he couldn't help feel stressed out at the thought of having to continue to pretend that she didn't affect him, even in the smallest of things. He was tired of it. He was actually starting to consider the idea of screaming out his feelings for her so that the whole world could hear him. At least, his conscience would be calmed. On the other hand, that would mean letting the most important person in the world for him know how he felt about her. And Ned wasn't sure he wanted to do that anytime soon.

"Ned? Are you okay?"

Ned lifted his head slightly; enough recognize the person who was talking to him. It was Cookie who had been watching the game from the practice form the sidelines, while working on some computer program on his laptop. He closed his eyes again and covered his face with his arms. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay, Cookie," he told him.

"Are you sure captain? 'Cause you don't look okay."

Ned groaned again. "Ok, so maybe not. If you want me to tell you the whole story it will take a long time."

"That bad, huh?" He said, taking a seat beside him on the grass.

"You have no idea."

Cookie observed his troubled friend from his sitting position, and wondered what could make him feel this way. The whole week he had seemed almost normal, spending time with him and Lisa, pretending still to be Moze's boyfriend. He had actually seemed even more cheerful these days, but obviously something had been bugging him too. Cookie knew Ned well, and he had observed how frustrated he had been during the practice. Cookie sighed and took the initiative. First things first.

"Is it about school or your classes?" he asked him, trying to get information out of him.

"No," Ned answered almost regretfully. For once in his life he wished he was having trouble with one of his classes instead of this.

"Is it something about your family?"

"No," Ned responded again.

"Hmm, are you having problems with your friends then?"

Ned sighed and responded negatively again.

Cookie then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Then this obviously about Moze."

For the first time, Ned didn't respond, giving Cookie the answer he needed. He should have known it was about her. He sighed. If only the two of them were completely honest about their feelings towards each other, they wouldn't be in this mess. "What is it about her now?" Cookie asked, expecting him to deny all attraction to her.

Ned sighed, and removed his arms from his face, instead placing his hands over his chest and placing his look on the gray sky again. He decided to tell Cookie the truth. After all, he was his best friend, and maybe this way his situation would be easier to accept. He sighed again, and without almost any feeling, finally opened his mouth to say what he was feeling. "I'm in love with her, Cookie. And it's killing me inside."

Shock was written all over Cookie's face. "What?!"

Ned laughed somewhat sardonically. "Are you really_ that_ surprised? I thought you had known it for a while Cookie."

"Yeah, I have known that you have had a crush on her for a while," Cookie responded, getting back his composure. "But _love_? I didn't expect you to admit that you were in _love_ with Moze."

Ned laughed slightly again. "But I am Cookie. I can't fight it anymore, and sincerely I don't want to either. I'm tired of having to deny it."

Cookie smiled at his determination. "So when are you going to tell her?"

Ned groaned. "That's just it. I _can't_ tell her."

Cookie looked at him strangely. "Why can't you? I mean all you really have to do is walk up to her, open your mouth and say 'I love you'. I mean I did it and look, I have Lisa now."

"Cookie you don't understand. Moze is my best friend. I can't just go up to her and tell her I love her, it would freak her out. I mean we've been friends most of our lives, and she probably doesn't feel the same way. And I certainly don't want to ruin our friendship. She is everything for me. I can't lose her."

"You really _are_ blind, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Ned asked confused, turning his head to look at Cookie.

"Moze is in love with you too Ned! Anyone can see it. The problem is that both of you are too stubborn to admit it."

"Come on Cookie, that's impossible. First of all, she just got out of a relationship with Seth, which I might add, ended up quite badly. And look, the way she talks to me, and the way she treats me isn't the way she would treat someone she loved. Besides, I know her so much that I can read her like a book. She doesn't have any romantic feelings for me."

"If you really want to believe that Ned, then do it. But trust me. I'm seeing it from an outsider's point of view. She does have feelings for you. Moze is just afraid, just like you are."

"You really think that Cookie?" Ned asked softly after a few silent, thoughtful moments.

"I do Ned. All you have to do is be a bit brave and find it out by yourself."

Ned smiled slightly. "It's harder than it seems Cookie. And really, I don't know for how much longer I can keep this inside. Eventually I will burst and tell her everything. I just need it to be the perfect moment."

Cookie smiled, and stood up slowly. "I've got to meet Lisa back at the computer lab to head home. Are you coming?"

"Nah," Ned responded still lying on the grass. "I'll stay here for a while longer. I've got some things to think about now."

Cookie stood up, leaving Ned lost in his thoughts again, just staring up at the cloudy skies. Maybe, he thought, if he stared long enough at it, there would be some kind of sign that helped him figure out his dilemma, because sincerely, with every moment that passed, he felt more and more lost.

* * *

Moze walked out of the gym, after the volleyball practice had ended, heading towards the fields to look for Ned. They had agreed on walking home together as usual. She sighed, tiredly. 

She was tired. Mind you, not physically tired—she could live with that. But this time, she was mentally tired. She felt as if the same thoughts had been running around her head in her head for the whole week. And she was tired of trying to figure out what the things that were happening around her meant. And even though she couldn't understand her and Ned's situation, she couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. If there was someway she could disconnect her brain from her body for a while to _stop_ thinking about it, she would.

But she knew she couldn't hide from herself for long. And worst, she knew she couldn't hide from Ned either.

She reached the soccer field, and she found Ned lying on the grass, seemingly thinking quietly. He had been acting weird the whole week, like he was hiding something from her. But it was only one of the many things that she couldn't understand no matter how much she thought about it.

Instead, she put her backpack down beside his and lied next to him. "Hey Ned," she said.

Ned jumped in surprise. He had forgotten that he had told Moze he would walk home with her. Just when he needed to be alone to think about her. He sighed, instead asking how her practice had been.

For a while, things seemed normal again. They spent the next half an hour, talking, teasing each other playfully. They continued with their playful banter until Ned reached to tickle Moze and they started wrestling on the ground, laughing hysterically. They rolled around on the grass, getting slightly muddy, but neither of them was about to give up. Without thinking about what he was doing, Ned rolled a last time, leaving him on the bottom, with Moze lying on top of him, their noses a few inches away.

Moze stopped tickling slightly, observing the position they were in. Instead she looked into his bottomless blue eyes. Time seemed to stop. Ned had also been struck silent suddenly and was observing her actions carefully. He noticed the small blush on her cheeks and the way she was looking at him. Could it be that Cookie was right?

Testing the waters, He lifted his right hand slightly and brushed his finger softly against her soft cheek. Her blush intensified immediately.

He leaned up and brushed his nose against hers softly, looking deep into her beautiful brown eyes. He had fallen in love with those eyes, with that smile, with that blush. Ned had fallen in love with his best friend and there wasn't anything he could do to deny it. Not anymore. And he didn't want to do it either. He just wanted to scream to the four winds how much he loved her. If only it was as easy to tell her what he felt for her.

But instead, he decided to show Moze what he felt through his actions.

So he pushed her slightly, so she was now lying on the ground. With her trembling underneath him, he slowly leaned further down, intent in placing his lips over hers.

Moze eyes widened with surprise, and a small "What are you doing?" escaped from her lips. Ned only placed his index finger over them, silencing her, looking into her eyes again, telling her without words to trust him. Ned knew what he was doing—or at least he hoped he did.

Slowly, he removed his fingers from her lips, kissing her softly, and throwing caution to the wind.

Moze was so surprised that she didn't move. Ned seemed to be kissing her because he wanted to, no explanations needed. There wasn't anybody around either. So why was he doing it? In a span of a few seconds Moze's life seemed to have been turned upside down, but for now, she didn't want to think about it. So instead, she kissed him softly back.

The moment Moze started kissing back, Ned's heart jumped into his throat, beating wildly. An unexplainable feeling of contentment and peace washed over him, and he smiled against Moze's lips. Pressing his lips more firmly, he deepened the kiss, trying to gauge her reaction. But she only continued to kiss him.

Ecstatic, Ned raised a hand to frame her face, a let him himself be lost in the kiss. And somehow, he knew she was doing the same. But unfortunately for them, they couldn't avoid reality for too long. As heavy rain started falling upon them, they broke the kiss, staring wide-eyed at each other, blushing like mad.

Ned wanted to open his mouth and tell Moze what he felt. Instead, he stood up, reaching for her hand, running to look for cover from the heavy rain that was now pelting them.

Moze was so shocked, that she let herself be pulled along toward their houses by Ned without emitting a single sound. _Had it really happened?_ She couldn't quite formulate a clear thought at the moment. So instead, she stopped thinking in a way, for once, experimenting the many feelings that she had never imagined she had. As she ran behind Ned, a bright smile speared on her face. She never knew love could be so…endearing.

Ned ran as fast as he could, pulling Moze behind him, the adrenaline from their kiss rushing through his body. He couldn't believe that he had had the guts to kiss her. And it hadn't been as difficult as he had thought. Maybe this was what he needed to do in order to understand what Cookie had been telling him. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought. And suddenly, he was struck dumb. He couldn't believe his eyes.

The sun suddenly broke out of the cloudy skies, bathing them in a warm rain. And as soon as this happened a beautiful rainbow crossed the skies. So maybe there was hope after all. He turned his head to look at Moze, but couldn't speak at the sight of her bright smile. And he couldn't help but smile too. And he couldn't help embracing her into a warm hug either. As Ned stared into her big brown eyes, he suddenly knew that everything would be okay.

He let go of her, still smiling. "Coming?" He asked her, extending his hand towards her.

Moze only nodded, reaching to grasp his hand, squeezing it softly and smiling wider. Together hand in hand, they walked towards Ned house in bliss, forgetting for awhile about the world around them. They didn't even remember that it was raining. It was just the two of them, contently, together. No need to think of what happened the last few weeks for the moment.

They finally reached his house and entered through the back door into the kitchen, dripping water onto the clean floor. But for the moment, they didn't care. They were still smiling at each other. They were so distracted that they didn't even notice that their mothers were sitting at the kitchen table, looking curiously at their wet forms.

"Ned? Moze?" Both of them jumped in surprise, slipping and falling onto the wet floor.

"Ow," Both of them muttered, scolding themselves for being so distracted. Ned stood up, not letting go of Moze's hand and pulling her up at the same time.

"Are you guys okay?" Mrs. Moseley asked, worried. 'You seem to be lost in space or something."

"Nothing, we're just tired," Moze responded for both of them. They laughed nervously under their mothers' inquisitive gaze.

Both of their mothers lifted their eyebrows at them, looking at their intertwined hands. Once they noticed where their gazes where headed, they let go of their hands as if they were on fire.

"Sooo….anything you want to tell us?" Mrs. Bigby asked, still looking at them questionably.

"No," Ned responded a little too fast, selling them out. He blushed as he realized his mistake. But maybe they hadn't noticed.

"Well, we have heard some interesting things lately," Mrs. Moseley continued.

"Like what mom?" Moze asked nervously.

She looked thoughtful. "Well, for some strange reason, several people seem to think that you guys are dating. But that isn't true, right? After all, you have always denied feeling that way towards each other."

"_Uh-oh," _both of them thought blushing. Their mothers had caught them. It figured. They were mothers after all.

"Ohhhhhhh, that," Ned said, scratching his head trying to look innocent. He didn't think Moze wanted their mothers to find out. "It's just another stupid rumor-"

"Ned, why don't we tell them the truth?" Moze interrupted him, looking at him pointedly. Mrs. Bigby and Mrs. Moseley looked at their exchange interestedly.

"What?" Ned asked bewildered. "You want to tell them that we-"

"Are together since a few weeks ago? Yes I want to," Moze pretended to look adoringly at him. Well, she wasn't actually pretending to, but, Ned liked to think that she was only pretending.

Ned looked lost. He really had thought Moze would never admit that they were pretending to date; much less he expected to lie and admit that they were actually dating. Especially to their mothers. What was she _thinking_? But Ned decided to play along with her. After all, she must know what she was doing, _right?_ "Oh, yes, what she's saying is true. " He laughed nervously again, looking sideways at Moze.

Moze reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers and smiling at them. The only thing Ned could do was blush. Could she be doing this because this was what she really wanted? Them dating; _for real_? He sighed. The female mind was too complicated to try and understand.

Their mothers only smiled content at the 'couple.' "So why hadn't you guys told us before?"

"Uh…" Moze's mind went blank.

"We didn't want to hear the 'told you so speech', mom," Ned justified.

Both of their mothers laughed conspirationally, as their children rolled their eyes. Excusing them, Ned led Moze towards the living room, while running up to his room to look for dry clothes for him and Moze.

Once she was alone. Moze couldn't help but sigh contently. She had never felt this way, and part of her knew that she never feel this way again. She raised her hand to her lips, willing to believe that Ned had kissed her because he wanted to, not because they were pretending. That was why she hadn't told their mothers the exact truth. Part of her wanted to believe. Part of her wanted to forget that they were only pretending, and instead, just be happy with Ned.

Ned came down the stairs smiling at her back. He jumped the lasts steps and ran to hug from behind and swing her around in his arms—something he had done countless times during their lives. And as he heard her laugh, he knew he could be at peace. Maybe it wasn't as difficult as he had thought.

After Moze had changed into dry clothes, they had settled to do their homework together, and once they were done, they had had started to watch a movie together. That is, until the day's activities had finally wore them out, making them fall asleep on the couch together, with matching bright smiles.

The sun had finally come out for them again.

* * *

"Come on Moze! We haven't gone into _this_ store!" Lisa told her excitedly as she pulled into a different store in the mall. But this time Moze didn't complain. In fact, the smile that had been plastered on her face on Friday afternoon was still there. No matter what she did, she couldn't stop smiling. But she wasn't about to complain. Although it had been kind of hard to respond when she was asked why she was smiling. But she didn't care. 

She and Lisa had been at the mall all afternoon looking for the perfect dress to wear at the dance next week, but so far, they had only accomplished to find a dress for Lisa. For some reason, Lisa hadn't liked any of the dresses Moze had tried on, thus not allowing her to purchase them. Apparently, Lisa that somewhere in the mall they would find the dress that would leave Ned speechless. Moze had then pointed out that Ned never cared about her looks—he probably even noticed what she was wearing. But Lisa had then pointed out that it didn't hurt that she try and look nice for him.

Moze had only blushed while Lisa laughed.

She was tired of walking around, but she didn't care. Things were so much better now. Maybe pretending to be Ned's girlfriend wasn't so bad. After noticing that there weren't any eye-catching dresses in that store, they walked out of it, talking animatedly about all the things they had heard about the dance that was to be held next week.

"So how are you guys going to break up?" Lisa asked suddenly. For the firs time since the day before, the smile dropped from Moze's face, and she looked sadly down. Right, they were only pretending. "Moze? Are you okay?" Lisa continued worried.

Moze nodded slightly, her eyes tearing up.

Lisa looked at her compassionately. "Moze? Don't you want to break up with Ned?"

A tear rolled down her face. "No," she responded softly, sighing.

"Oh Moze," Lisa said embracing her, as her friend continued to cry slightly. "Why?"

They sat down at some benches, and Moze wiped her tears away. "I'm in love with him, Lisa. I can't deny it anymore."

Lisa smiled at her. "Finally."

Moze looked confused. "Huh?"

"I've known all along that you were in love with him. You just didn't want to admit it. Everything should be easier now."

"How are you so sure?" Moze asked, kicking her feet and looking down at the floor.

"Admittance is the hardest step Moze. Now, if you don't want to lose him, you _must_ do something Moze. Don't let him slip away, or you'll regret it."

"But what can I do?" She asked looking lost.

Lisa smiled again. "It's simple Moze: tell him how you feel."

"It isn't as easy as it sounds Lisa."

"I know Moze, but you have to do something before it's too late."

They continued looking around the mall, and just when they were about to give up, they found the perfect dress. As Lisa put it, she looked regal with it on. It was a simple dress, but it was nice. It was just a dress that Moze would wear, nothing over the top. With her smile back on her face they walked towards the food court. All that dress-hunting had made them hungry.

Moze had thought about what Lisa had said, and she had to admit she was right. _"I don't want to lose him," _she thought to herself. Suddenly a pair of hands covered her eyes, and her smile grew wider.

How could she not recognize those hands?

She laughed, and pulled Ned's hands of her eyes, turning to face him. He was smiling just as brightly as she was. Ned pulled her into a tight hug as Cookie—who had come with him—and Lisa kissed each other as a hello.

Ned looked curiously at her. "Are you okay Moze? Have you been crying?"

Moze laughed at his intuition. He still knew her better than anyone. "I'm okay Ned. I'm just happy."

Ned caressed her hair softly. "Why?" he asked her softly, looking into her eyes.

"I have everything I always wanted," was her only response, as she put her head on his shoulder contently.

She knew that for now, everything would be okay.

_

* * *

To be continued... _


	7. Can't Stop Now

**Hi!**

**Yes, I'm finally back with a new chapter. **

**First I wanted to apologize for taking so long (too long) to update, but to be honest, besides being extremely busy, I had lost all inspiration to finish this. But I promised myself that I would, so here I am, hoping that you guys will accept me back. **

**I hope you'll like this one, though I'm a bit rusty in my writing and I hope that it won't show through. Not my best work, but I'm getting there. It's fun being back, and I do want to finish this to honor my loyal readers…even after all this time. **

**Enjoy…this is for you!:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ned's Declassified SSG**

_

* * *

_

Smiling, she grabbed his hand tightly and pulled. "Come with me!"

_Sixteen-year-old Jennifer Moseley ran as fast as she could, pulling away from his grasp, her bare feet sliding over the cool grass. She stopped, panting, and looked behind her, a wide smile spreading in her beautiful face. "Hurry up!" she told the figure lagging behind her. "Can't the soccer player catch up with me?" She mocked. Starting to run again, she let the wind slap her face gently, making her feel as if she was finally free. She extended her arms towards him, smiling, "Isn't this beautiful?" _

"_Wait up Moze!" The boy behind her yelled, laughing at her enthusiasm. _

_She laughed, and instead, ran faster, changeling him to a race. _

_Well, the boy thought, if she really wants it this way… He ran as fast as he could until finally reaching her, and wrestled her onto the ground. Before they knew it, they were rolling down the green hill laughing hysterically. _

_They sat up, all covered in grass, but they couldn't have been happier. "Thanks for bringing me along," The boy said interrupting the comfortable silence. _

_She giggled and reached for his messy hair, pulling out blades of grass from it. "Don't thank me. That's what friends are for…"_

"_But you chose to bring me with you to your family vacation over Seth," the boy countered, somewhat confused. _

"_Yeah well," Moze said slinging her arms around him in a loose embrace, "Seth, even being my boyfriend and all, cannot compare to the best friend of the whole wide world."_

_Ned looked at her and all he could do was smile. _

* * *

**It had been a fun day after all.**

After the boys arrived at the mall to meet them, they had spent a while talking, before Cookie and Ned got distracted by the smell of food. Laughing, the girls dragged them to the food court, and while they decided what to eat form the many options presented to them, Lisa and Moze slipped away to Lisa's car to hide their purchases.

When they returned they couldn't believe their eyes.

Ned and Cookie had enough food on their table to feed a small army.

Rolling their eyes, they sat next to their boys, or in Moze's case, her pretend boyfriend. She laced her arm through his and put her head on his shoulder, something she had done since they were younger. Between bites, Ned smiled and dropped a small kiss on her forehead, as he offered Moze a bite of his sandwich. She graciously agreed, lifting her head and in the process accidentally brushing her nose against his. Both of them blushed, but this time, Moze decided to be brave. Instead of turning her gaze away embarrassed, she looked right into Ned's blue eyes, trying to read his thoughts.

What she saw surprised her.

Ned was looking at her with a different kind of gaze, something Moze couldn't exactly place. But this was forgotten when he smiled at her and gently kissed her nose, all the while offering the sandwich to her. They were quite a sight.

"Ned, when's the next game?" Cookie asked him, drawing them from their reverie. Lisa, on the other hand, sighed, and kicked him under the table. He had obviously been unaware of his best friend's latest interaction.

Cookie doubled over in exaggerated pain, while the other three occupants of the table laughed at his antics. "What did I do now?" he asked holding his ankle. Lisa only rolled her eyes and responded, "Nothing love," she said wondering how Moze, Ned and Cookie could carry on with their lives with them being so clueless.

"Anyway, the next game is tomorrow, and I was actually hoping you guys would come."

"Of course we'll come Ned," Moze said, now eating from Ned's french fries. "After all, your loyal girlfriend has to be there to make you play better," she said remembering his words from a few years back.

"Awww!" he said playfully, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Cookie's eye twitched, while he tried to contain his laughter. They would never learn. "Anyway," he said clearing his throat. "Ned do you guys want to go to the movies?"

"Why not?" he asked, all four of them getting up from the table after eating. They went up the electric stairs and picked a random movie to watch, which to be honest, neither Ned nor Moze really watched. Once they saw that the movie theater was full of their high school classmates, they knew they had the perfect excuse. And so, as soon as the lights dimmed, they started stealing kisses.

* * *

A few wonderful hours later, they dazedly walked out of theater and decided to go home. She grabbed the bag containing her dress from Lisa's car and jumped into Ned's. They drove off silently, Moze putting her head back on her seat and closing her eyes. Without meaning to, she slowly fell asleep.

Ned looked at her and smiled. She deserved the rest. Moze had tons of responsibilities at school, but somehow always managed to squeeze in time for her friends. She had been so busy lately that Ned wondered if she was even getting enough sleep. Sure, he could skive off his work, everyone knew that schoolwork wasn't his strength, but to Moze, it was way too important to even _think_ on doing her work. And even after all these years she had yet to get tired of bugging him so that he did his homework. She really was an amazing girl.

Ned couldn't picture his life without her. And so he wondered what would happen if he took a risk. Parking in his driveway, he took the seatbelt off and reached over to gently shake Moze awake.

"Mmm?" she asked still with her eyes closed.

He smiled. She looked so cute when she slept. He slipped his fingers through her hair softly. "We're home Moze."

She yawned and opened her eyes sleepily, stretching. "Thanks," she said almost whispering.

He opened the car's doors, slipping out into the chilly night. He laughed. "You're not planning on sleeping in my car, are you?" he joked, as she grabbed her bag and stepped out.

"Ha ha, you are so funny," she responded sardonically. She followed Ned's curious look to her bag. She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"What's that?" he asked. Ned hadn't noticed that she had bought something.

She smiled conspirationally. "Nothing, just a little something I'm going to use to play a prank on you."

"Look who's funny now…" Ned said rolling his eyes. "Now, really, what is it?"

"It's just the dress that I'm going to wear to the dance, Ned."

"Ohhhh, can I see?"

She laughed. "You do know that curiosity killed the cat, right?"

"Hey! I'm no cat…"

"Really? You could have fooled me."

"Moze please let me see it."

"Patience Ned, you'll be able to see it in a week or so…"

He playfully scowled at her. "Okay, I guess I'll have to wait," he said resigned, walking up her porch steps. Moze dug into her pockets, looking for the keys. When she finally found them, she put them on the lock and unlocked the front door.

"So…I guess this is goodnight." She said smiling. "See you tomorrow at the game Ned."

"Nighty night," he responded putting his hands in his pockets. Moze pushed the door open and started walking in.

A spark of inspiration grew within him "Moze!" Ned reached and grabbed her wrist. She turned around startled.

"What's wrong Ned?" she asked curious.

Ned scratched his head nervously. Okay, so maybe this wasn't the best time, but it couldn't hurt to try... He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He looked like a goldfish out of the water.

"Ned? Are you okay?"

He laughed nervously. "I-" Damn, this was great. What was he supposed to say now? He chickened out. "I just wanted to know what color your dress so that I could get you a corsage," he covered.

"Guess," she said playfully, aware that he was hiding something from her.

"How am I supposed to do that? There's too many colors!" he complained, trying to distract her.

"If you know me well enough you'll know," she told him confidently, and walked inside, calling goodnight out to Ned.

He only stared at the closed door and sighed.

He walked over to his own house, and wondered if he would ever be able to tell her his real feelings.

He wasn't about to give up. Not yet.

* * *

Moze hung the dress in her closet carefully, took her shoes off, and jumped onto her bed, closing her tired eyes. She was sleepy, but at the same time her mid was reeling. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Ned. The way he had looked at her tonight when he had dropped her off at her house was different. And then, while she was still wondering what was up with him, he had opened his mouth but no words had come out of it. It was as if he had wanted to say something, but couldn't.

Ned had never had any difficulty to tell her something, so she desperately wondered what was it that he had been about to say.

She turned her head sideways, and watched as the light in Ned's room turned on. Her best friend walked into the room, not realizing her stare a few feet away. He walked around, looking lost, getting ready for bed. Moze wondered what was on his mind. It wasn't normal for him to act this way, so quiet, somewhat distant from her.

Her heart stopped as a sudden thought occurred to her. Had Ned planned on "breaking up" with her tonight?

Tears started to form in her eyes. Moze couldn't let that happen. Not now, when she was just starting to figure out what she really felt for the blue eyed boy. Not again. She didn't want her heart broken, especially by that one person she trusted her life to.

Then, however, she reminded herself of how wonderful the last weeks had been, and at that moment, a spark of hope grew in her heart.

It was then when she took the decision. Lisa was right. She had been right all along. She had to do something, and soon. She couldn't risk losing Ned. Moze had no idea how she was going to tell him that she had fallen in love with him, but part of her—that little part of her heart that she tried so hard to ignore every day—knew that this was the right thing to do. She brushed her tears away gently, and wondered how she had gotten herself into this mess. If she was stronger, braver, this would be easier. But she couldn't try to pretend something she was not in front of Ned, who knew her better than anyone in the world, and who would look right past the strong façade into her vulnerable, sensitive self. In her own un-valiant way, she would someday—soon she hoped—be able to confess to him.

But he was different, he would understand, even if she made a fool of herself. That was why she loved him so much.

One way or another, even if Ned did not love her the way Moze did, she knew that he would never in a million years hurt her—intentionally at least.

And she knew that she couldn't continue to lie to him. Or herself for that matter. And although she hadn't the faintest idea of what she could do make Ned love her the way she did, she smiled, because she knew that whatever happened everything would be all right. She just had to wait a while more. She wanted to be sure of what she was going to do, sure that that she wasn't making a mistake, and keep the hope that maybe deep within him, Ned loved her as much as she loved him. She only wished she knew what he really felt.

She curled herself into a ball, still looking at Ned who had now changed into his pajamas and prayed to God to give her more time. Ned was about to turn the light off and go to bed, but when he raised his face, he spotted Moze just across from him and his eyes lit up. He saw her give him a small smile and headed to the window to speak to her.

"Moze? Are you still awake?" he asked, hesitantly.

She laughed silently, sitting up on her bed. "No Ned, don't worry, I'm just sleepwalking," she responded the obvious question with sarcasm.

He laughed at her joke, rubbing his hands maliciously. "Ooohhh, so this means I get to ask you embarrassing questions and you'll answer them in your sleep?"

"You are never going to change, are you?" She asked, standing on her toes so that she could sit on her windowsill.

"Hey, I'm just saying."

It was her turn to laugh. "Besides, what can I possibly tell you that you don't already know being my best friend and 'boyfriend'?" she continued, making quotation marks with her fingers.

Ned carefully climbed out his window onto her roof, and sat down next to her on the sill. Playfully he raised his hand to his chin and pretended to think, all the while glancing sideways towards Moze. "Oh come on," she said shoving him lightly laughing, "I bet you can't ask something that you don't already know the answer to."

"What do I get if win Moseley?" he asked seriously, an idea forming in his head. Maybe this was it. Unconsciously his hand reached for hers, and he started playing with her fingers. Ned had gotten so used to holding on to her hand these past few days that he actually felt strange when her soft fingers weren't laced with his.

Moze rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the tingles in her hand and the butterflies in her stomach. "Whatever you want Bigby," she answered defiantly. Honestly, she really didn't think he could come up with a question.

"Hey, so I get to have a personal slave for the next month?"

Moze scowled at him while Ned laughed. "You really think you are that smart?"

"Oh come on Moze, you know I am," he smirked.

"Yeah, that is _so_ obvious…"

"You are never going to admit it, right?"

She laughed. "I'll admit it when it's true," she said in a sing song voice.

Ned sighed. "Anyway, here goes nothing." He raised his gaze to look directly into her chocolate orbs. "Moze…who do you love?"

She froze and her heart dropped to her stomach. This was too soon. _I can't do it now! _She thought frantically.

"Uh…" she laughed nervously.

Ned smiled mischievously. He looked like a cat that had just caught a mouse. He had _so_ trapped her. Maybe she really did love him.

_What do I do now?_ She thought, avoiding his penetrating blue eyes. "Uhh… I love my mom," she said avoiding the question, "I love Cookie and Lisa, they're my friends," she said counting with her fingers.

"Moze…"

"I love my grandmother,"

"Moze…"

"I love my grandfather,"

"Moze…"

" Oh I know! I love my baby cousin Sophie who's so sweet,"

"Moze!" Ned finally got slightly impatient. "That wasn't the question."

"R-really?" she stuttered, looking down at their loosely intertwined hands.

Ned then reached out and put his hand on her chin softly, raising her gaze to his. "Why won't you tell me who you love Moze?" he asked softly. He hoped this would work.

"You don't understand Ned,"

"Are you afraid?" he continued.

"Y-yes," she said.

"Of what? Are you afraid he won't love you back?"

She nodded silently. "I can't tell him yet," she said carefully. "I want to be sure first."

Ned nodded resigned. "At least tell me. Do I know him?"

She smiled shakily. "You do Ned. He's a close friend of yours," she tried to cover up.

_Great. _His heart dropped, it wasn't him. However, it had to be someone who he knew…couldn't it be worse? He would have to deal with of friend of his going out with Moze. "Wait a sec… Moze it's not Cookie, right?" he asked suddenly.

"Ned! Of course not, Cookie's like my brother, besides being Lisa's boyfriend.

_And what about me?_ he asked himself silently. _What am I to you?_

"Actually," Moze said, "The guy I love is someone sweet and caring." She stole a glance at him. Ned's expression was unreadable. "He always makes me laugh, and in certain goofy way, he's unique. He looks out for his friends a lot and that says a ton about him, because to him, they're the most important thing in the world. He's the type of guy you can always run to for help, and someone that overall, won't let you down. Never." She smiled, gripping his hand more tightly, looking up at the moon.

"Well. I can say one thing," Ned said sighing.

"What's that?"

He caressed her hand with his thumb. "He's one lucky guy to have you. And-" he gulped, "once we're over, he will have his chance with you."

Moze sadly lowered her gaze again. _Once we're over… _That was it?

"Moze?" he asked softly, gaining courage. If he was going to lose her to another guy, he would at least keep _this._

"Yeah?" she said still not looking at him.

"Since I won the bet, can I get the prize now?"

She nodded silently, realizing that in fact he had won. She wondered what kind of torture he had planned for her. "What do you want?"

Ned took a deep breath, trying to calm his wildly beating heart . "_This,_" Ned tilted her chin once more, leaned in slowly towards her, closing his eyes and placed his lips against hers in a soft, long kiss.

He broke the kiss and separated their lips a few millimeters, and whispered "Goodnight Moze."

And with that, Ned stood up and disappeared into his own room.

She ogled at him. _What_ had just happened?

* * *

Ned was warming up near the field where he was about to play. He raised his glace and looked up into the bleachers looking for the familiar head of brown hair. Why hadn't Moze come yet? The game was about to start…

Sighing he picked up his shoes and started lacing them, while trying listening to the coach's words of preparation to the game, but his mind was elsewhere.

Could it be that Moze was angry at him for what he had done last night?

Or had she had finally figured out his secret and was freaking out?

Damn, he had just had to do that. But Ned hadn't been able to help it. She had looked so beautiful and innocent last night under the moonlight. And after all, he didn't regret it.

That kiss had been so magical..

The moment he had laid his lips on hers his heart had leaped in joy. Her kisses were addicting, and he knew that whatever he did, no matter how much time passed, that special feeling would always be there. Ned knew that he would never get tired of kissing her. And he just hoped that he would get the chance to enjoy it for the rest of his life.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, startling him. "Hello Ned," she said softly placing her head on his shoulder.

He laughed. Ned should have known better. Moze would never let him down. "I thought you weren't coming." Some way or another, she felt revitalized by last night's events. Now there was hope in her heart. Maybe…jut maybe. All she had to do now was tell him—easier said than done. But for now, she only had to keep pretending.

She smirked at him. "Hey! Of course I was coming. I have to see my boyfriend kick the other team's butt."

Ned laughed harder. "Jennifer Moseley, Ms. Competitive," he joked.

"Don't you ever doubt it," she said.

"Moseley! What are you doing? Distracting my star player before the game?" The coach asked spotting them sitting on the bench.

Both of them laughed. "Sorry coach, I was just leaving."

"Nah, I was just joking, but since you're here please help me keep track of their stats." He told her, handing her a clipboard and a pen. "Anyways, Bigby plays better when you're around."

"I told you, didn't I?" Ned said poking her playfully, making her laugh. "You're my lucky charm."

Moze blushed a bright red. Did he really mean that? Noticing her blush, Ned smiled timidly at her, and kissed her nose. "Wish me luck, Moseley."

"I sure will," she said blushing harder. He stood up, heading towards the field and leaving her behind.

Moze looked him go, and she hoped that some way or another, she would be able to stop him from leaving her, figuratively speaking.

One week until the dance. One week for her to tell Ned those three little words.

She had seven days to figure out how she was going to tell her best friend that she loved him.

* * *

The game was almost over now, and they were still tied. Ned was too distracted in his own thoughts to concentrate on the game, but he knew that his team was counting on him. He really was trying his best, but nothing seemed to be going his way today.

He tried to get past the defender, but he ended up losing the ball again. He groaned frustrated with himself, and crouched down to take a breather. He felt as if the whole world was on his shoulders. He had to do something so that his team could advance to the state finals. But even the skies seemed to be sad today, covered with thick gray clouds.

"Ned!" he turned his head at the sound of his name.

And there she was, his own little ray of sunshine.

"You can do this Ned!" she continued over the holler of the other voices. "I know you can."

He smiled. He would do this for her. And so, the next time he got the ball, he didn't waste his chance. He ran, shot and scored. The bleachers rose up with excitement, but he was only looking at one person.

Ecstatic, he spotted her jumping up with joy on the sidelines, waiting for him. He ran towards her, embracing her in a tight hug, and she welcomed him, not caring that he was sweaty. He spun her in circles, both of them laughing, realizing that he had just won the game. But they really didn't care.

This was what Ned really wanted. This is what he longed for. Her warmth, her love.

He smile grew as he caressed her face. "Thanks," he whispered into her ears.

"That's what friends are for…" she responded only for him to hear. And without waiting for his protest, she kissed him softly on the cheek.

Now, if they could only be honest with themselves.

But everything was not as simple as it seemed.

* * *

_To be continued..._


End file.
